Brooks Koepka Anticipates Ryder Cup Vibe in LIV vs. PGA Tour Match in Las Vegas
Brooks Koepka feels like he could be entering another Ryder Cup environment, a match play with bragging rights on the line, even if only teams…
Brooks Koepka feels like he could be entering another Ryder Cup environment, a match play with bragging rights on the line, even if only teams of two players compete in a match instead of teams of 12 players in 28 matches.
Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau, each major champion the past two years while playing for LIV Golf, face the PGA Tour’s Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy in a televised match at Shadow Creek in Nevada on December 17.
Scheffler is the No. 1 player in the world rankings after a nine-win season, including another Masters and an Olympic gold medal. He only faced Koepka and DeChambeau four times.
Koepka was asked if Scheffler could have won as much if he had faced a full field of stars.
“Scottie has had a hell of a year. I think it’s probably one of the best years the tour has ever had,” Koepka said Tuesday. “Bryson had a hell of a year – he played 10 times better than me. I’ve played with him enough to know what he could have done on the PGA Tour. We all have a good idea of what we would have done on tour.
“I think he (Scheffler) would have won a lot of his golf tournaments,” Koepka said. “But I think we would have put up a good fight. That would have been interesting.
He thinks “The Crypto.com Showdown” at Shadow Creek, north of Las Vegas, will be enough to pique fan interest. Not only is it a rare chance outside of the majors to see the best of LIV Golf and the PGA Tour, but there’s that team spirit.
“Let’s be real: Wouldn’t you want to see a LIV versus PGA Tour Ryder Cup style thing? It is what it is,” Koepka said. “It’s becoming a big thing. This is what will attract the fans.
Apart from a few European Tour events, the stars of LIV Golf and the PGA Tour only meet four times a year in the majors. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which finances LIV Golf, and PGA Tour Enterprises are negotiating a commercial deal. It remains to be determined how a minority investment from the PIF could bring the world of golf together.
“What we do is truly unique for golf. This could launch something in the future,” Koepka said.
The PGA Tour signed off on the Las Vegas match by giving Scheffler and McIlroy outings to play. This is at least the start of more appearances, even if neither Koepka nor DeChambeau have any idea what that might look like.
“The showdown is a great showcase to bring the two tours together a little bit,” DeChambeau said. “And I think what we’re doing to do next year, we’re all aligned, is to bring something a little bigger and badder, so that we can have multiple times – at least once of more – where we will get to see most of the best players from both sides competing.
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