Johnson: I feel bad for anyone who takes on me and Koepka
World No1 fires Ryder Cup warning to Europe Olesen looking good to claim last qualifying spot
In what can be interpreted as the first sly shot fired in the build-up to the 2018 Ryder Cup, world No 1 Dustin Johnson has extended his sympathy to any European pairing unfortunate enough to face him and Brooks Koepka in the match in Paris in four weeks’ time.
Johnson is close to Koepka, the world No2 who has won two of this season’s majors and three of the past six in which he has played. It appears inevitable that Jim Furyk, the United States captain, will team up the big-hitting friends, and Johnson, who usually lets his clubs do the talking, clearly feels that would spell certain defeat for the duo in the blue and gold corner.
“I’m definitely looking forward to partnering up with Brooks,” he said. “I think we’d make a pretty good team – and I feel bad for anyone who would have to play us.”
Rory Mcilroy might disagree. At Hazeltine two years ago, Davis Love eventually put out the Johnsonkoepka partnership in the Saturday afternoon fourballs, and in the company of the Belgian Thomas Pieters Mcilroy inflicted a 3&1 loss on the crack American duo.
Koepka has proved himself to be one of the dominant forces in world golf in the intervening period, but Mcilroy would still fancy his chances. The Ulsterman enjoyed a satisfactory beginning in the Dell Technologies Championship in Boston yesterday. Mcilroy, who skipped last week’s opening Fedex Cup event in New Jersey to work on his game following a mediocre USPGA Championship, shot a levelpar 72 that left him six off the pace set by Justin Rose.
At the Made In Denmark event, the final competition in the race to qualify for the Europe team, it seems increasingly likely that Thorbjorn Olesen will hang on to the last of eight automatic qualifying spots.
Olesen just scraped inside the cut mark on two under following a 69, but the Dane can only miss out on Le Golf National if either Matt Fitzpatrick or Eddie Pepperell wins. The former is on four under, while the latter is only one better. That leaves the English pair nine and eight shots respectively behind the halfway leader at Silkeborg, South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
Pieters is on seven under after a 68. A first win of the year would hurtle him into the conversation for one of the four wild cards that Thomas Bjorn, the Europe captain, will announce on Wednesday.
Bezuidenhout is two clear of Bjorn’s vice-captain Lee Westwood and Jonathan Thomson.