Bryson DeChambeau’s final round at the US Open might not have gone to plan, but the LIV Golf star hasn’t given up hope of making the Ryder Cup in Rome later this year.
The shock merger between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia that bankrolls LIV Golf, has potentially improved the chances of LIV Golf players making the US Ryder Cup team.
“I think [the door] is open a lot more,” said the 2020 US Open champion, who was one of the biggest names to move across from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf last year, a switch that reportedly earned the 29-year-old in the region of $125 million. “I hope that [captain Zach Johnson] picks the best players from the country. That’s the most important thing is playing for the country.”
DeChambeau, who currently sits 47th on the US points list, was speaking before his final round at Los Angeles Country Club and although he closed with a 74 to slide down the leaderboard into a tie for 20th, the American still has Rome in his thoughts.
“I think Brooks [Koepka] is already qualified and I think he’s already on the team,” added DeChambeau, who also revealed that he spoke with Johnson briefly on Sunday at last month’s PGA Championship, where he finished in a tie for fourth.
“If my game continues to improve and I play well in another Major and play well in some LIV events, I hope [Johnson] considers some of those guys. It’d be nice to consider me.”
The top six off the US points list through August 20 automatically qualify for Johnson’s team, and the US skipper will announce his six captain’s picks just over a week later.
DeChambeau might not boast the same Ryder Cup pedigree as someone like fellow LIV golfer, Phil Mickelson – his record from his two contests is 2-3-1 – but he has Major winning experience, and his ability to hit the ball huge distances is obviously a great asset.
If DeChambeau is to force his way into Johnson’s thinking, his best chance of impressing his captain will surely come at next month’s Open at Royal Liverpool, the final men’s Major of the year. Although he has four LIV events left to play before the side is finalised, Johnson has hinted in the past that the rebel circuit is not something he has been keeping close tabs on.
“That’s where it’s on television? I didn’t know that. I do get to see it – I have to ask my kids. I think I get CW,” said Johnson, when asked whether he watches the LIV Golf events on CW at the PGA Championship in May.
Despite admitting that the Saudi-backed league's players could be on his 12-man team in September, Johnson has been cagey on where he stands with that prospect. “I don't know. I can't answer that,” he also said in May.
“I'll say this: The guys that are on the PGA Tour that make that team, they have direct ownership in that collectively. So for me to stand here and say that I would feel comfortable or uncomfortable with it would be, I would think, responsible on my behalf because it's not my team.”
