18 June 2023 , 19:50
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Bryson DeChambeau has set his sights on making Zach Johnson 's American Ryder Cup team, as they take on their European rivals on away soil in Rome later this year.
DeChambeau put his Ryder Cup chances in jeopardy last summer as he made the decision to join the LIV Golf setup in its maiden season. A concrete decision on whether LIV players will compete at Marco Simone in September is still yet to have been made.
However, six-time major champion Brooks Koepka appeared to have opened the door to those competing on the rebel circuit after winning last month's PGA Championship at Oak Hill.
The major victory shot Koepka up into second in the Team USA rankings, and even if he is to slip further down the list due to his lack of PGA Tour golf, his win in Rochester last month has made him near impossible not to pick for captain Johnson.
One man who is keen to follow in the footsteps of his fellow LIV star is DeChambeau. After a tough two seasons, the American has shown glimpses of his best at this week's US Open. Whilst on property at the Los Angeles Country Club DeChambeau said: "I think [the door] is open a lot more.
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Bryson DeChambeau moved to LIV Golf last summer (AP)"I hope that [U.S. captain Zach Johnson] picks the best players from the country. That’s the most important thing is playing for the country... I think Brooks [Koepka] is already qualified and I think he’s already on the team.
"If my game continues to improve and I play well in another major and play well in some LIV events I hope [Johnson] considers some of those guys. It’d be nice to consider me.” For European captain Luke Donald the plan surrounding LIV players seems fairly clear, after the likes of Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood handed in their DP World Tour memberships, thus making them ineligible.
Zach Johnson has a big decision to make (Getty Images)For Johnson things are a little more difficult, especially after Koepka forged his way into the conversation with his PGA Championship in May. Johnson himself competed in the event at Oak Hill, but refused to be drawn on whether LIV stars would be included in his team come September.
"I think it's too premature, frankly irresponsible, to even have any sort of opinion about that," Johnson said. "I think given where we are at right now, there's a lot of points out there, No 1. No 2, you have a bunch of elevated events. Shoot, No 3, if you go back on history, there's names right now that probably on both tours that we're not even mentioning that could have a chance given what's in front of us."