Ryder Cup reignites LIV golf storm as Brooks Koepka has PGA stars in Saudi-backed teamwear
Brooks Koepka was the only LIV Golf player to compete at the Ryder Cup and he appears to have taken the opportunity to launch a recruitment drive in the USA dressing room.
Brooks Koepka may have ruffled a few feathers at the PGA Tour whilst on Ryder Cup duty after he convinced four of his USA team-mates to pose in LIV Golf team apparel for a photograph. Five-time major champion Koepka was the only representative from the breakaway Saudi-backed LIV league to play in the Ryder Cup at Rome’s Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, where Team Europe pulled off an emphatic 16.5.11-5 victory to regain the trophy.
The 33-year-old endured a mixed bag of results, tieing his Friday fourballs match before suffering the heaviest defeat in Ryder Cup history when he lost his Saturday foursomes match with Scottie Scheffler 9&7 against Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg.
He would recover to win his singles match on Sunday against rookie Aberg but it could not prevent a memorable win for the Europeans who have not lost on home soil since 1993.
Koepka’s inclusion in Zach Johnson’s side was contentious because of his association with LIV Golf. A number of big-name players who starred at the last Ryder Cup for the USA were snubbed this time around after defecting to the Saudi-backed Tour, including former world No 1 Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau.
But it is clear that the current US PGA Champion had no trouble settling into the side with his PGA Tour peers, so much so that he even convinced a quartet of them to pose in LIV Golf team wear after the final round on Sunday.
