USA’s Ryder Cup campaign this year was one of their worst outings on away soil. After going 4-0 down at the Friday foursomes, Zach Johnson’s men tried to revive their bid of an away win. Despite narrowing the gap, USA failed to end their thirty-year drought of an away Ryder Cup win.
But more than their poor performance, what came into question was the team spirit or lack of that thereof. Although, USA captain, Zach Johnson issued a sharp retort to the bombshell report of a rift within the USA team, a Brooks Koepka comment from the past has come back to haunt USA again.
Brooks Koepka couldn’t care less about the “country club kids”
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Alan Shipnuck, the celebrated sports writer’s revelations, drop a major hint about the ‘fractured’ mentality within the team. Popular Golf handle, Nuclr Golf, reported that Brooks Koepka during a gathering, said, “f**k all those country club kids who talk s**t about me.” Apparently, the LIV golfer was referring to the likes of Jordon Spieth, Justin Thomas, and others. Spieth has earlier admitted that LIV golf does pose a threat to traditional tournaments such as PGA Tours.
The 33-year-old golfer has received a lot of backlash from fans and analysts alike after switching to the Saudi-backed league. What makes his comments significant is that those were not directed at netizens or analysts but at his fellow golfers. Koepka, though, explained his reasoning in unambiguous terms, “you think I give a f**k what they think? I just had three surgeries, and I’m supposed to turn down $130 million?”
The heated comments came at a late-night party after the McManus Pro-Am in Ireland, where the likes of Jason Kokrak, Pat and Ashley Perez, and Dustin Johnson were also present. Further, he vindicated his reasons for joining the LIV golf. “I grew up with nothing. After signing the contract, the first person I called was my mom. We both cried.”
🚨💰⛳️ Alan Shipnuck writes about a LIV social gathering that took place at the JP McManus pro am in July ‘22: “Fuck all of those country club kids who talk shit about me,” he said, referring to the likes of Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and others. “You think I give a fuck what… pic.twitter.com/JYCxXr6VX6
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) October 4, 2023
Koepka incidentally was the only LIV golfer to be selected for Team USA at this year’s Ryder Cup. Although Koepka appeared to share good chemistry with fellow tour loyalists, his comments from the past have once again put into question the unity of the USA team.
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USA’s Ryder Cup campaign has been mired in controversies
During the Ryder Cup, a British media report claimed that Patrick Cantlay refused to wear the USA cap as a form of protest. Apparently, the eight-time PGA Tour winner was not happy with the fact that Ryder Cuppers don’t get paid to represent their team.
Even as both the player and his captain refuted this claim of a ‘rift’ since then, another comment from Xander Schauffele’s father again brought the issue into the spotlight. Recently, Stefan Schauffele claimed that his son was almost on the verge of missing out on the Ryder Cup, because of PGA’s obduracy. Calling the act “shameful’”, he revealed that PGA, at first, was not willing to talk about the contract changes that Schauffele and Cantlay demanded.
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Now, with the four-time Major winner’s past comments about his future teammates coming to the fore, once again team USA finds itself in a tough spot.