On the eve of the US PGA Championship, Brooks Koepka was asked about the possibility of being selected for the Ryder Cup.

US team captain Zach Johnson had dismissed Koepka’s runner up finish in the Masters as “one good week” and claimed he could not accurately assess the form of LIV players in their own events.

Knowing that performing well in majors was effectively his only chance of impressing Johnson enough to earn one of his six wild cards, Koepka had a simple solution.

“If you go second, first, first, first, it would be kind of tough not to (get a) pick, right? If you go handle business, I feel like I should be fine,” Koepka said.

It sounded an ambitious goal but not any more after Koepka claimed his fifth major title and third US PGA Championship at Oak Hill, holding off a determined Viktor Hovland and a charging Scottie Scheffler to win by two shots.

There may be no need for a wild card now. Koepka has jumped from 22nd to second in the Ryder Cup standings, with the top six qualifying automatically and Johnson selecting six wild cards.

And his place on the team, despite playing on the Saudi-funded LIV circuit, was immediately welcomed by one of the men he had just beaten into second place.

“I want to win the Ryder Cup. I don’t care about tours or anything like that,” Scheffler said.

“It’s something we talked about when we finished (at Whistling Straits) a year and a half ago. We want to beat those guys in Europe. It’s been a long time since we’ve beat them.

“Whoever the best 12 guys are that make a complete team, it’s different than individual tournaments. We want a team of guys that are going over there together to bring the cup back home, and that’s all I really care about.”

Koepka is just the 20th man in history to have won five or more majors, matching the totals of Seve Ballesteros, Peter Thomson, Byron Nelson, JH Taylor and James Braid, the latter pair each winning five Open titles before 1913.

“It’s crazy,” the 33-year-old said. “I try not to think of it right now. I mean, I do care about it. It’s just tough to really grasp the situation kind of while you’re still in it, I think.

“Probably when I’m retired and I can look back with Jena (his wife) and my son and kind of reflect on all that stuff, that will be truly special, but right now I’m trying to collect as many of these things as I can. We’ll see how it goes.”

The chances of Koepka again becoming a dominant force in majors – he won four in eight starts at his peak – looked exceedingly slim as he suffered a number of career-threatening injuries.

He rushed back from surgery after shattering his kneecap in order to compete in the 2021 Masters, but missed the cut and did so again 12 months later, revealing this year at Augusta that had prompted him to try to punch out the back window of his car in frustration.

Koepka also admitted his decision to join LIV would have been harder if he had been fully fit at the time, while confessing on the Netflix documentary ‘Full Swing’ that he would “pay back every dollar I ever made” to regain the feeling of winning a major for another hour.

“It’s very hard to explain,” the former world number one said. “I mean, it was a lot worse than I let on to you guys, let on to everybody. I think maybe only five, six people really know the extent of it, all the pain.

“There’s a lot of times where I just couldn’t even bend my knee. The swelling didn’t go down until maybe a couple months ago, so that’s almost, what, two years? It’s been a long road.

“But look, that’s who I am. I’m open and honest. I know I seem like this big, bad, tough guy on the golf course that doesn’t smile, doesn’t do anything, but if you catch me off the golf course, I’ll let you know what’s going on.”

Asked if he considered retiring when at his lowest ebb, Koepka said: “I don’t know if I considered retiring, but I knew if I couldn’t play the way I wanted to play then I was definitely going to give it up.

“I mean, the thought definitely kind of crossed my mind.”

Brooks Koepka admitted his fifth major title was the “most meaningful” after winning the 105th US PGA Championship at Oak Hill.

Koepka won his first four majors in the space of eight events from 2017 to 2019, but suffered career-threatening injuries and a loss of form before joining LIV Golf last year.

The former world number one also felt, in his own words, that he had “choked” by failing to convert a four-shot lead after six holes of the third round of the Masters at Augusta National.

There was no repeat of such failings at Oak Hill as Koepka held off the challenge of Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler to claim a third US PGA title and move into the automatic qualifying places for the US Ryder Cup team.

“It feels damned good,” Koepka said. “Yeah, this one is definitely special.

“I think this one is probably the most meaningful of them all with everything that’s gone on, all the crazy stuff over the last few years. But it feels good to be back and to get number five.

“When I look back at where we were two years ago I’m just so happy right now. I’m kind of at a loss for words. This is the coolest thing.

“There’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears that have gone into this one. Life has changed a lot for me but this one is super gratifying for me.

“I don’t know how many guys have won five times but to be in with those names is incredible. I’m not sure as a kid I even dreamed about doing it.”

Quote of the day

“There’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears that have gone into this one” – Koepka reflects on his fifth major title after overcoming various injuries.

Shot of the day

Club professional Michael Block’s amazing week included making a hole-in-one on the 15th while partnering Rory McIlroy in the final round.

Round of the day

Five players shot 65 in the final round but Koepka’s 67 was compiled amidst the highest pressure and he responded superbly to every setback.

Statistic of the day

Club professional Michael Block made many, many times his usual hourly rate for lessons with his amazing performance at Oak Hill.

Easiest hole

The reachable par-four 14th offered up an essential scoring opportunity, with three eagles and 27 birdies leading to a scoring average of 3.632.

Hardest hole

The par-four seventh played as the toughest hole with runner-up Scottie Scheffler making one of just four birdies on the final day. Winner Brooks Koepka was one of 31 players to make bogey as it played to an average of 4.421.

When is the next major?

The US Open takes place at Los Angeles Country Club from June 15-18.