After looking like a good bet for an automatic qualifying position for the US Ryder Cup team, LIV Golf player Brooks Koepka was pipped to the sixth and final spot by Xander Schauffele following his T8 at the BMW Championship.
That leaves the PGA Champion at the mercy of Zach Johnson to see if he will appear at Marco Simone.
The Team USA Captain will name his six wildcards next week as the long-running question over whether LIV Golf players will be included will finally be answered.
However, one player who is already assured of his place in the team, Open champion Brian Harman, is in no doubt Koepka would be an asset for the biennial match in Italy.
Harman is preparing to compete in the PGA Tour’s season finale the Tour Championship at East Lake. Before teeing it up in this week’s event, though, he gave his thoughts on Koepka’s chances. He said: “You know, Brooks he's right there. I think he would be a pretty good addition to the team."
Harman is one of three players who have qualified automatically making his maiden appearance in the match, along with US Open champion Wyndham Clark and Max Homa.
In contrast, Koepka has made three appearances, and Harman thinks that experience could be invaluable. He said: “I'm not totally familiar with his record in Ryder Cups, but the experience would certainly help, especially considering there's probably going to be a fair amount of rookies over there.”
Despite Johnson having a wealth of talent to select from beyond Koepka, a win in the match is by no means certain, particularly with Europe boasting two of the world’s top three players in Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm and its record on home soil, where it hasn’t lost to the US for three decades.
The task facing Team USA doesn’t appear to be lost on Harman, either, although he admitted he has full faith in Johnson to make the correct picks. He said: “In my opinion, the goal of the Ryder Cup is to win, so whoever Zach thinks that can help us win the Ryder Cup I think needs to be on the team.”
Harman’s comments came after another player who has guaranteed his place on the team, Scottie Scheffler, also suggested Koepka was close enough to qualifying automatically to be involved.
He said: “Brooks? I mean, I looked at the points list the other night. He was about, like 300 or, I think he was 30 points shy? Which is, I think it was the equivalent of like $30,000 throughout the year. So if he played one tournament on Tour I think he probably would have been on the team.”
Johnson will name his six captain’s picks for the Ryder Cup on 29 August, one month before the match begins. He will do so from the home of the PGA of America in Frisco, Texas, between 10am and 11am ET.
