Claude Harmon III is one of the top professional golf coaches in the business and is working with Brooks Koepka. After winning his third PGA Championship, the question of whether Koepka should be on the American Ryder Cup team has been a hot topic.
Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee made it evident he doesn’t believe that Koepka or other players on the Saudi-backed LIV Tour should be on the team. After Sunday’s round, the debate between Chamblee and Brad Faxon got a bit contentious.
Some agree with Chamblee, and others with Faxon. However, Harmon III made a bombastic claim regarding Chamblee, Golfweek reported.
“Brandel is a paid actor by NBC and Golf Channel. All he’s trying to do is get his lines and shows for the Golf Channel,” Harmon III said. “He’s just trying to get lines for Brandel … And I mean, I love him, I think Eamon is a fantastic writer, but for Eamon Lynch and Brandel Chamblee, who worked for NBC Golf Channel to utter the words ‘sports washing’ when the company they work for televised the last two Winter Olympics in Russia and China with the same leaders that they’ve had. It’s not like they were good leaders back then. It’s not like Putin was a good guy, right?”
Harmon III understands both sides of the story regarding LIV and the PGA Tour. He has players on both sides of the aisle.
With Koepka’s runner-up finish at the Masters and win at the PGA Championship, he currently has one of the six qualifying spots for the Ryder Cup team. If he plays well at the U.S. Open and Open Championship, all this discussion may not matter.
The 12-member team has six members who qualify automatically and six captain picks. Players earn one point per $1,000 at regular PGA Tour events beginning Jan. 1. The winners of the four majors can earn two points per $1,000. Lastly, players can earn 1.5 points per $1,000 for making the cut at all four majors.
Koepka’s win at the PGA Championship sparked a debate that is not going away.
