US Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson has left the door open for LIV golfers to be selected for this year’s event in Rome – insisting ‘I’m not one to ever say never’ – after the defector Brooks Koepka storms to victory at the PGA Championship
Zach Johnson declined to say whether he would select in-form LIV golfers such as Brooks Koepka for his US Ryder Cup team this fall.
The American defectors remain eligible if they accumulate enough ranking points to finish in the top-six in the US Cup standings, or if they make a case with their performances for one of Johnson’s six picks .
The politics of the LIV furore made a saga of the powderkeg situation, but Koepka – who led the Masters after 54 holes and then won it from the same position – is in such good form that he should be in the conversation.
But Johnson offered little encouragement to the likes of Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau, saying he had no plans to attend any LIV events and appeared to suggest he wouldn’t follow any broadcasts either.
‘I think the luxury of being captain is that I’m still relevant and prevalent on the PGA Tour,’ Johnson said on Sunday.
Brooks Koepka (above) took a two-shot victory at the PGA Championship on Sunday
Fellow LIV Golf defector Bryson DeChambeau (above) also had a strong week at Oak Hill
US Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson has not ruled out selecting LIV golfers for this year’s event
‘So for me to abandon that in a week where I can go out there and go where most of my players are coming from, would be irresponsible and inappropriate.’
Asked to clarify if he will be going to one of the LIV tournaments to keep a close eye on the progress, he added: ‘It hasn’t been discussed. I’m not one that’s ever to say never but it was never discussed.’
Johnson indicated that it was too early for such deliberations. That may raise eyebrows less than five months before the clash in Rome.
