Captain Bradley Invited DeChambeau and Koepka to Ryder Cup Dinner
Who's coming to dinner?
On Tuesday of last week in Philadelphia, U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Keegan Bradley invited players whom he sees as having a chance to make his team in September.
Two of the invitees were Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka.
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Seven major victories and six Ryder Cup appearances between them, Bradley sees both as viable alternatives.
'It's an incredible honor, unfortunately we had massive storms that morning that delayed me 3 1/2 hours, and I couldn't make it to the dinner,' DeChambeau said of the dinner invite. 'But I saw it on Zoom and also talked to the captain about it, and I was step and step with him. We had a great conversation after.'
The two LIV players are ranked at opposite ends of the ranking list spectrum, with DeChambeau fifth and Koepka 91st; however, the rankings hold less significance when considering LIV players, who can only gain points toward making the U.S. team based on their performance at majors.
US team captain Keegan Bradley, left, and Europe team captain Luke Donald take a photo with the Ryder Cup after a press conference at Times Center. Lucas Boland-Imagn Images
'No one cares about what's going on in this side PGA Tour-LIV, we're trying to put the best team together,' Bradley said. 'It could mean there's one LIV guy, two LIV guys, it doesn't matter. We'll see how this year shakes out. It was really great to have them together with all the guys. It's been a while since we've been able to do that.'
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Bradley views both DeChambeau's and Koepka's cup experience as an essential benefit to a team that currently appears to be low on experience, heading into the Big Apple.
Bradley is waiting to see how his team will take shape, and this week at the PGA Championship is one of the four critical weeks, as it can make decisions much easier for Bradley as he has seen few American victories this year.
'I think we have to see how the team takes shape here in the next couple of months, but we'll definitely be using analytics to help us make the picks, along with obviously the eye test of who we think is going to be suited for Bethpage Black,' Bradley said. 'I think, when you get down to it, they're always really tough decisions. So, the more information you can get helps you with those, but we'll see how the team takes shape in the next couple of months.'
Bryson De Chambeau (Team USA) on the 16th green during the Sunday singles matches at the Ryder Cup 2020.Golffile | Fran Caffrey
Since LIV has fewer analytics compared to what the PGA Tour produces on its players, Bradley will have to massage the LIV numbers and delve into the LIV video archives to see how not only DeChambeau and Koepka are playing, but potentially even an argument could be made for Patrick Reed as well.
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'We know winning and contending on any tour at any level is difficult,' Bradley said. 'I don't care where you play. I played the mini-tours. Winning there was difficult. Winning on the LIV is difficult. You can see guys -- winning a LIV event is a big deal.'
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