Chase Koepka backs ‘in-form’ Brooks Koepka for US Ryder Cup team - “He’s my brother, but he deserves a pick”
Brooks Koepka’s Ryder Cup team selection has been a hot point of discussion for the last few months.
After months of speculation, reports suggest that the LIV Golf star will make the US team led by Zach Johnson as a captain’s pick. Ahead of the pick, Chase Koepka has come out to make a case for his brother Brooks.
The younger brother of the reigning PGA Championship champion said that the ‘in-form’ Brooks “deserves a pick.” Backing his elder brother for the team, Chase pointed out that Brooks has “played great” in past editions of the event and he only narrowly missed out on the automatic qualification.
Speaking about Brooks Koepka’s possible US Ryder Cup team selection, Chase was quoted as saying by the Daily Record:
“Brooks is my brother, but he deserves a Ryder Cup pick. Obviously, he only just missed out in qualifying automatically but what he did in the majors this year, runner-up at The Masters and winning a third PGA Championship while he’s played great in past Ryder Cups.
"My brother has shown that is back to his best and in talking with him, I know first-hand how much he wants to be a member of Zach’s side heading to Rome. The way he’s played this year, and the manner he stepped up to go so close at Augusta and then to see him win another PGA title was phenomenal.”
Further emphasizing his point, Chase said that his brother has “fully earned selection” with his performances over the last 12 months. The 29-year-old even pointed out that people are “crazy” if they don’t see how good the LIV golfer is. He also claimed that a lot of US Ryder Cup players already want Brooks in the team.
It's pertinent to note that LIV Golf-attached Brooks was among the leading six up qualifiers for the Ryder Cup picks before the opening FedEx Cup Play-Offs. However, the golfer was bumped out of the six and can now only make the team as a captain’s pick.
How to watch the US Ryder Cup 2023 captain's pick announcement?
The US Ryder Cup team announcement will take place on Tuesday, August 29. Captain Zach Johnson will announce his full 12-man team ahead of next month’s Rome event at the PGA of America HQ in Texas. The announcement will be done between 10 and 11 am ET.
Ryder Cup fans can follow the squad announcement on social media platforms. The updates will be done on the official handles of @RyderCupUSA. The updates will also be shared on RyderCup.com, Golf Channel and SiriusXM Radio Channel 92.
After months of speculations and controversies, it will be interesting to see which players make the final US team for Rome.