Brooks Koepka Is Playing in Another Ryder Cup, but This One's Been a Journey

The five-time major champ thrives on the biggest stages and tells Sports Illustrated how he got back to the Ryder Cup—and hints at a possible partner.

SUGAR GROVE, Ill. — As soon as the LIV Golf League Chicago event ends late Sunday afternoon, Brooks Koepka will be on the move. Quickly.

LIV Golf has arranged for him to fly directly from Chicago to Rome, where he will meet his Ryder Cup teammates Monday morning.

And it is somewhat fitting that Koepka, the ultimate loner when it comes to his golf game, will be making the journey on his own. The rest of the U.S. team is taking a charter that departs earlier in the day.

Koepka is the only U.S. Ryder Cup player who is competing this week, the only one from LIV Golf that is part of the 12-man team that will take on Europe next week at Marco Simone Golf Club.

MORE: SI's guide to the Ryder Cup

The guy who has seemingly put the biggest tournaments above all else—winning five major championships—holds the Ryder Cup in the same esteem.

"My whole mindset has been to practice for (the Ryder Cup) the last few weeks," Koepka said Wednesday at Rich Harvest Farms, site of the LIV event that begins Friday. "I mean, look, I think it’s one of the top six, seven biggest sporting events you can have. It’s a little bit more eyeballs, a little bit more pressure."

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Koepka admitted it has been some journey getting to this point.

Brooks Koepka narrowly missed an automatic bid for this Ryder Cup after playing just 10 qualifying events :: Brian Bishop/Icon Sportswire

A year ago, at the same LIV event outside of Chicago, Koepka had yet to finish among the top-10 players in any of the 54-hole events. A week later, the U.S. team would compete in the Presidents Cup, where Koepka was an afterthought.

He wasn’t eligible, whether due to giving up PGA Tour membership or the fact that the Tour was not allowing any LIV players to participate in Tour events. The Ryder Cup a year later hardly seemed possible, given the venom that existed about the breakaway league—and especially given the injury difficulties that Koepka admitted caused numerous doubts about his future.

"It’s all come very fast," Koepka says. “But sometimes, you have to hit the bottom to figure out where you’re at. I think from (years) ‘17 to ‘19, everything was just gravy. You feel like you can’t do anything wrong. And then it’s tough, you just can’t do stuff when your body’s just not letting you do it. The big thing was trying to figure out toward the end of the year and just feeling better.

"That helped and I started to see some results. But then all of the stuff in the offseason, the time off, not playing golf, and getting my body into a place where I can swing without pain every day. It was a whole lot easier."

In a 12-major stretch from the end of 2016 through 2019, Koepka had four victories, two seconds and a total of nine top-10 finishes. Even in 2021, when injuries started to mount, Koepka tied for second at the PGA Championship, tied for fourth at the U.S. Open and tied for sixth at the British Open. He’s been first or second in nine of his last 24 major championship starts.

Things began to turn when he won his first LIV Golf event last fall in Jeddah. He won another the week prior to the Masters, then tied for second at Augusta National after holding the 54-hole lead, eventually finishing four shots back of Jon Rahm.

When he won the PGA Championship at Oak Hill, Koepka was well inside the U.S. Ryder Cup automatic qualifiers and only fell out of the top six spots following last month’s BMW Championship. Koepka played in just 10 Ryder Cup qualifying events over two years but still finished seventh in the points.

If there remains any controversy about him being part of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, it is not from within. Koepka says that U.S. captain Zach Johnson let him know in advance of the picks announcement that he was getting one of the six spots, a suggestion that Koepka’s involvement was not that tough of a call.

And he lives in South Florida where a bunch of the same guys he’ll be playing with—and a few against—also live.

"I see Rory (McIlroy)—I know he’s on the other side, so is Shane (Lowry)," Koepka says. "But JT (Justin Thomas), I see Patrick Cantlay, Rickie (Fowler). There must be six or seven guys who live in the same area who will be at the Ryder Cup."

One who won’t is fellow LIV Golf player Dustin Johnson, who went 5-0 at Whistling Straits and is considered friendly with all involved. Johnson told the Palm Beach Post last week that he felt he’d have been on the team had he been playing the PGA Tour, admitting that his performance in the major championships this year likely hurt his chances.

Koepka says he was not asked for input, simply being one who was in the mix for a pick.

"I get the case for DJ," Koepka says. “He played great the last time, played great last year. Hasn’t really played that great this year ... or hasn’t played to DJ’s standard. That’s a better way to put that. And he didn’t play well in the majors. So I can see why he didn’t get a pick. But if they had picked him, it’s DJ and I could see that one as well."

This is not to suggest that there are not numerous choices for partners.

"I can play with anybody," Koepka says. "And I will play with anybody."

And that led Koepka to his favorite partner, Brandt Snedeker, whom he played with at his first Ryder Cup in 2016. "I loved playing with Sneds," says Koepka, who went 2-0 with Snedeker and 3-1 overall. “I loved the fire he had. He was my first partner and maybe best partner I’ve had. I paired with Tony (Finau) in France. (Daniel) Berger in the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup last time.

“It was fun with all of them. I like getting in with guys who are different, who show emotion. And I think it’s more fun when it’s a different personality."

To that end, a possible partner in Rome for Koepka could be U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark. While Koepka wasn’t about to disclose any secrets, he acknowledged his relationship with the two-time PGA Tour winner.

"I've been close with Wyndham for years even before I came over (to LIV)," Koepka says. "I used to play most of my practice rounds with him. It was either DJ or him it felt like. We talked through the whole process (of the Ryder Cup). It’s been fun to hear his thoughts, being a rookie. To see him play so well was cool. I must have texted him right after he finished in L.A. (at the U.S. Open). He’s a good kid and someone I really like."

Koepka is 6-5-1 in three previous Ryder Cups, with a 2-0-1 record in singles. He went 2-2 two years ago at Whistling Straits, where the U.S won in a 19-9 rout, suggesting that the Americans might be in position to dominate going forward with a plethora of young stars and the apparent demise of some European stalwarts.

That hardly seems the case today. Europe—with McIlroy, Rahm, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton, Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood—seems as poised as ever. A lot has changed in two years.

"They have a lot of good players," Koepka says. "And that’s how it should be, though. You take the best players from the States and the best from Europe and it’s always going to be a big match. It’s usually going to be tight. At the end of the day, it’s just one week and somebody has to lose.

"I've enjoyed playing in them. They’ve been fun and I’ve said it before—I got crucified the last time—it’s a different week. There’s a lot going on. But it becomes so fun when you get immersed in those teams and being a part of those teams."

It’s interesting what rates as controversy now. Koepka’s "crucified" comments prior to the 2021 Ryder Cup to Golf Digest:

“It’s different. It’s hectic. It’s a bit odd, if I’m honest. I don’t want to say it’s a bad week. We’re just so individualized, and everybody has their routine and a different way of doing things and now it’s like, O.K., we have to have a meeting at this time or go do this or go do that. I can barely see my (personal) team. It’s hard to even go to the gym. There’s no time to do that at the Ryder Cup. There’s no time to decompress."

Koepka caught some heat for that. NBC’s Paul Azinger even suggested he should give up his spot if he didn’t want to be there.

"I just said it’s different," Koepka said at the 2021 matches. "That doesn’t mean it’s bad. Y’all spun it that way."

It is different. Team over individual. Match play versus stroke play. Koepka enjoys going it alone but is clearly excited to get to the event that "is one of the biggest in the world."

Yes, a lot has changed since the last Ryder Cup.

Koepka is now a dad. He’s added a fifth major title, one of just 19 players in the game to have won that many and more than any other active player under the age of 40. He’s overcome doubts and injuries. And he is part of a Ryder Cup team that didn’t seem possible, the loophole of PGA of America membership allowing him even the opportunity.

"I knew it was going to be a tough battle,’’ Koepka says. “The PGA of America membership meant it was still possible. It could be done. And I did it."