Ryder Cup: Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson will not return to site of 2019 PGA Championship showdown

USA Today

4 days ago

At first, it didn't appear we'd have much drama for the final round of the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage Black.
Brooks Koepka, who would regain the world's No. 1 ranking later that day, was a comfortable seven shots ahead of the current No. 1, Dustin Johnson, in Farmingdale, N.Y.
But the Palm Beach County residents suddenly were in an epic battle. Two of the most dominant, ruthless golfers of that time battling on a course that matched their intimidation as Johnson cut Koepka's advantage to one stroke on the back nine.
In the end, Koepka prevailed by two shots for his fourth major in 23 months, and the two once again held the top two spots in the Official World Golf Ranking.
'To be standing here today with four majors is mind blowing,' Koepka said.
And if you think that is "mind-blowing," consider this:
In two months, Bethpage Black will host another major event, possibly the biggest and rowdiest this country has ever seen, the 2025 Ryder Cup. And six years ago, heck, three years ago, it would have seemed inconceivable that neither Koepka or Johnson would be wearing the red, white and blue in 2025.
But that is the reality now.
With the four majors in the books, the two most dominant figures in their sport from 2016 to 2021 and two of the biggest names to defect from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf, have gone from royalty to irrelevant.
While Koepka was an easy captain's pick for Zach Johnson two years ago, neither will even occupy one second of captain Keegan Bradley's time as he fills out his 12-man roster in one month.
The lone LIV golfer who will be part of the team looking to avenge its 2023 loss to the Europeans: Bryson DeChambeau.
Dustin Johnson says it will 'suck' watching Ryder Cup
Johnson, 41, showed some life at the British Open, the final major of the season, finishing tied for 23rd. But the two-time major winner and a man who has spent 135 weeks at No. 1 in the world, fourth most all-time, is in the midst of a steady decline.
The Jupiter resident had missed the cut in all three majors this season, entering the British Open, and six of the last eight.
Koepka showed some life at the U.S. Open, finishing T12. Otherwise, he, too, missed the cut at three majors this season, including the British Open. This is the man who one time said he believed majors were the easiest events to win, his rationale explained in this quote before the 2019 PGA Championship:
'There's 156 in the field, so you figure at least 80 of them I'm just going to beat. From there, you figure about half of them won't play well from there, so you're down to about maybe 35. And then from 35, some of them, the pressure is going to get to them. It only leaves you with a few more, and you've just got to beat those guys.'
Since winning his third PGA Championship in 2023, Koepka has two top-20 finishes in majors. His three missed cuts in majors this year are one more than he had in his last 11 years combined.
And it's not just against the elite fields where these two former champions have struggled. They have become middle-of-the-pack players in LIV Golf.
Neither has won on the Saudi-backed tour this year, finishing in the top 5 one time each in 10 LIV events.
Two years ago, Dustin Johnson told the Palm Beach Post he was disappointed captain Zach Johnson left him off the Ryder Cup team, admitting he did not play well but believed he "played well enough to be on the team."
Before the British Open, he told The Athletic, "It's going to suck watching (the Ryder Cup) from home. I just haven't played well enough this year."
As easy a choice as Koepka was for the team in 2023 after finishing tied for second at the Masters and winning the PGA Championship, his fifth major, he'll be just as easily dismissed this year.
Koepka, 35, hinted in April that he believed he figured out what's held him back and then missed the cut at the Masters with a 74-75. He admitted from around the Masters until just before the U.S. Open, "I haven't been happy. It's been very irritating. … you didn't want to be around me.'
A brief resurgence at the U.S. Open buoyed that confidence, but now that's likely gone after a 75-74 at Royal Portrush in the year's final major.
Is complacency to blame for many LIV golfers fading?
For both, it's back to LIV's 54-hole, shotgun-start events to close out the season.
Theories abound as to why so many marquee names who sacrificed their legacies to join LIV have faded. Koepka and DeChambeau are the lone LIV golfers to have won a major since leaving the Tour, but only DeChambeau and Jon Rahm currently are thriving and move the needle when it comes to the world stage.
While LIV does little to prepare its golfers for the majors with its format and being forced to play on many courses that are less challenging, the ongoing debate will center on the financial security these top-tier stars obtained with their initial contracts. For the elite few, those deals exceeded $100 million.
"It's hard to make an argument that LIV prepares you to win major championships," Irishman Paul McGinley, a former Ryder Cup captain, recently said. "They are playing team events, they're not playing on the most difficult golf courses, traveling around the world and then having to come back to America to play three to four majors."
Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network. He can be reached at [e-mail].