Koepka Would Be 'Welcome' On Ryder Cup Team As PGA Chief Plays Down 'Awkward' Oak Hill Encounter

PGA of America chief Seth Waugh says Brooks Koepka would be welcome on the Ryder Cup team and plays down Oak Hill incident

Seth Waugh - chief executive of the PGA of America
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Brooks Koepka will be welcomed onto Team USA if he qualifies, according to PGA of American boss Seth Waugh, who also played down their perceived awkward encounter at the Oak Hill trophy presentation.

Koepka won a third Wanamaker Trophy and a fifth Major overall on Sunday – putting him level with Seve Ballesteros and Byron Nelson among others in the all-time list, with only 14 men in the history of golf winning more.

The two-shot victory at Oak Hill also catapulted Koepka into second in the Team USA Ryder Cup standings and, although still not a fan of LIV Golf, Waugh says Koepka would be would be welcomed onto Zach Johnson’s team.

“If he plays his way on the team we will welcome him,” Waugh told Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis – echoing the sentiments of Team USA captain Johnson.

Waugh also clarified the interaction between him and Koepka at Oak Hill that had social media buzzing about the perceived awkwardness between them when taking pictures with the trophy.

A lot was made about the lack of handshake between the two, but Waugh has moved to brush off any talk of their being any awkwardness.

Waugh Added: “I literally said to him ‘I think they have four million pictures of me, they must have 24 million of you. I’ve never seen one of them and I don’t know if you ever have.’

“He cracked up, he laughed and we kind of turned around and smiled at each other. That was it. Somebody chose to thin that was a dis and I hadn’t shaken his hand.

“I already talked to him five times since he won. I certainly shook his hand and told him how proud I was of him. It couldn’t be sillier or further from the truth and everybody is trying to make it into this LIV thing which it’s got nothing to do with.”

Scheffler just wants the best Ryder Cup team

It now seems inevitable that Koepka will make the team for Marco Simone in Rome this year, given he’s got another two Majors to play with double points awarded for performances in those in the Ryder Cup standings.

And as one of the LIV Golf players who didn’t burn any bridges upon his departure from the PGA Tour, Koepka still seems to have positive relationships with the American Ryder Cup prospects.

New World No.1 Scottie Scheffler is among them, and he insists that he doesn’t care what Tour a player is on as long as they enhance the team as they look to end 30 years of failure over in Europe.

“I want to win the Ryder Cup,” says Scheffler. “I don't care about tours or anything like that. I want to win the Ryder Cup. It's something we talked about last year when we finished, or I guess a year and a half ago now. We want to beat those guys in Europe. It's been a long time since we've beat them.

“Whoever the best 12 guys that make a complete team, it's different than individual tournaments. We want a team of guys that are going over there together to bring the Cup back home, and that's all I really care about.”

Paul Higham
Contributor

Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website.  Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush.