Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele of the United States celebrate their win over Team Europe at the 43rd Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits on September 26, 2021. | Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images
The Golf Channel commentator does not think Koepka would be a good fit for the American team at next month’s Ryder Cup.
Brandel Chamblee fired shots toward Brooks Koepka Thursday during Golf Central’s pregame show.
“I think [Koepka] is bad for the [Ryder Cup] team,” the Golf Channel analyst said.
“Koepka being at the Ryder Cup, regardless of what he does, will not be about whether it will be great for the United States or the Ryder Cup… In making this team more cohesive, being all on point, and pointing in the right direction, Brooks Koepka missing this team would be good for this team.”
Chamblee has been an active LIV Golf dissident since its inception in early 2022.
Since the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) is LIV’s beneficiary, Chamblee routinely discusses the Saudi Kingdom’s history of human rights abuses, lack of transparency, and its involvement in 9/11, among other topics.
Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Golf Channel commentator Brandel Chamblee is on set during a practice round for the 78th U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links on July 05, 2023.
“Let’s get down to the brass tax of this,” Chamblee continued.
“The guy who runs the money that pays for LIV ordered the butchering of [Washington Post journalist] Jamal Khashoggi. As far as I know, he has never faced the music for that. That is who runs LIV. That is who funds LIV. That is who they went to. That is who they are playing for.”
Of course, the PGA Tour agreed to a ‘framework agreement’ with the PIF on Jun. 6. The two sides have until the end of the 2023 calendar year to strike a deal to unite professional golf.
Chamblee has blasted that agreement too, but ahead of the BMW Championship, he focused on Koepka and the Ryder Cup.
“Koepka being on the Ryder Cup is a referendum on LIV,” Chamblee added. “It will be nothing else. It will be non-stop tweets from bots and everyone that supports LIV about how great this is for LIV, more than about being about the Ryder Cup, more than the philanthropic aspect of the PGA Tour or the PGA of America.”
Photo by Darren Carroll/PGA of America
Brooks Koepka hits his third shot on the first hole during the Sunday Singles at the 43rd Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits on September 26, 2021.
Entering the BMW Championship, Koepka ranks fifth on the American side of the Ryder Cup standings. His win at the PGA Championship and second-place finish at Augusta National vaulted him up.
The top-six players in the rankings automatically qualify for the team following the conclusion of this week’s tournament at Olympia Fields.
“Koepka missing this team would also open up a spot for [U.S. Captain] Zach Johnson,” Chamblee argued. “It would open a spot for Justin Thomas or Lucas Glover.”
Indeed, should Koepka drop out of the top six, he could only make the team by way of a captain’s pick. Johnson has six picks at his disposal and can pick any player he deems worthy.
Thomas has been a Ryder Cup stalwart in the past, but his brutal 2023 season likely means he will miss the team this time around.
Glover, meanwhile, is the hottest golfer on the planet and trending toward making the American side. Should he do so, Glover would become the first player since Jose Maria Canizares in 1989 to make the Ryder Cup without playing in a single major, per Justin Ray of The Athletic.
Who knows how the next 10 days will shake out, as the American Ryder Cup roster needs to be finalized following the Tour Championship.
But if Chamblee had a say, he certainly would not choose Koepka.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
