The final captain’s picks for the Ryder Cup were always going to leave a trail of disappointment among players. When Keegan Bradley and Luke Donald announced their 12-man squads following the Tour Championship, several high-profile names were left off the roster, including two from LIV Golf: Sergio Garcia and Brooks Koepka.
Garcia, the Ryder Cup’s all-time points leader, was so shaken by his exclusion that he withdrew from this week’s Amgen Irish Open at The K Club in Kildare. But while he stepped away, Brooks Koepka chose to speak out.
The five-time major winner has long been a fixture in Team USA’s Ryder Cup lineup.
“I played my way off it, so I can’t be disappointed,” Koepka told “Off The Ball” in a frank interview at The K Club. “I did it myself. It’s not anything I’m not aware of. I’m not shying away from it. It’s just bad timing.”
The 35-year-old acknowledged that his performance this season had simply not met the standard, regardless of his reputation.
“Just the situation I’m in, being on LIV and then not playing well,” he added during the same conversation with Off The Ball. “I don’t think LIV had anything to do with me not being on the team, but it was more of the timing of the year and trying to get that ball rolling, which I’ve been doing.”
On the LIV Golf circuit, he managed just three top-five finishes and landed 31st in the individual standings.
“The putter has let me down this year,” he admitted, as seen in the video posted on YouTube. “I haven’t really made anything inside eight feet which has been the bread and butter my whole career … it goes through your whole game at that point.”
As of now, only one LIV player made the American Ryder Cup team, Bryson DeChambeau, who earned his spot through automatic qualification. For Koepka, the margin was slimmer and the timing less forgiving.
“I think Augusta really set me back,” he reflected at the K Club. “I missed a couple short ones there and then you lose a bit of confidence and can’t progress.”
Koepka went on to describe the mental toll of his struggles, stating, “Golf’s one of those games where you sit there and overthink it. When you play your best you’re not thinking about anything … When things aren’t going well you question everything.”
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