Was Brooks Koepka’s Ryder Cup Treatment Right? The Sole LIV Golfer’s Bitter Patriotic Experience Draws a Dark Line For The ‘Money over Legacy’ Pros

The 44th biennial event, the prestigious Ryder Cup, is finally over, and it was full of enthrallment. The excitement around the Ryder Cup began even before the tournament came close, and in the final days, the excitement amongst the fans only peaked. There was one speculation going around way before the Ryder Cup commenced, and it was related to LIV golfers being part of the prestigious tournament. US skipper Zach Johnson proved every speculation wrong when he picked the 2023 PGA Championship winner, Brooks Koepka, to be a part of the Ryder Cup squad.

After Keopka was chosen as a pick for the Rome showdown, the golf fraternity started speculating about whether or not he would be treated equally as other golfers, since he was the only LIV golfer in the clan of 24 men. Well, some of those speculations about him being treated differently did come true!

Was Brooks Koepka treated right in Rome at the Ryer Cup?

The entire Ryder Cup squad made their way a couple of days before the actual tournament for the pre-event festivities and a lavish opening ceremony. During the opening ceremony, something devastating happened for Brooks Koepka, which the 5X major winner or his fellow teammates might not have expected.

As soon as Keopka’s name was announced alongside his 11 squad members, a few fans somewhat booed him as he made his way to the stage. However, Koepka was unhinged and unaffected by any so-called humiliation that came his way, and he did not react to it in any way. The new father maintained his composure and respected the grand stage he was on. The team’s skipper also somewhat turned deaf, as he said afterward in the press conference that he did not hear anything up on the stage.

In a way, one can perceive that the 33-year-old golfer was a villain of the Ryder Cup, as he was one of the guys who chose ‘money over legacy’ and made the switch from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf. During the first session of the tournament, he was snubbed by Johnson, and he was not part of Friday’s foursomes, but he did make an appearance in the Friday fourballs.

One thing that LIV Golf and the Ryder Cup have somewhat in common is the team format of the two, and Keopka has been competing in that team format ever since his jump to the Saudi-funded league. Yet the 33-year-old failed to exhibit team-play motivation on the first two days, when he performed comparatively better during the Sunday single and won the point.

Read More: Jena Sims Oblivious to Brooks Koepka’s Humiliation at the 2023 Ryder Cup As She Laments Another American

Some fans even expressed that they were unhappy with Keopka being part of the team, as other LIV players, especially Bryson Dechambeau, would have made a better addition to the team. The pressure that the 5X major champion had on his shoulders to represent the entire Saudi league at such grandeur was a truly unique experience. There was no other incident reported that hinted at Koepka being discriminated against for the league he plays with during the glorious tournament, but overall, Koepka’s experience was not as pleasant as he thought it would be, as it started on a bitter note. It ended on a not-so-sweet note as well, as the American team failed to retain the golden trophy.

Could Zach Johnson have picked other boys from LIV Golf?

When Zach Johnson announced his captain’s picks, people were shocked to see Justin Thomas in the mix. Many argued that instead of Thomas, LIV golfer Bryson DeChambeau would have been a much better pick for the team. DeChambeau has been displaying stellar golfing skills ever since his victory at Greenbrier; his performance throughout the year in major tournaments has been better than that of JT.

Many people even speculated that Johnson picked Koepka because there was a lot of noise regarding it before the selection, and not picking him would have led to a lot of backlash. The Scientist of the golf world would have been one of the top picks for the American Ryder Cup squad, but the whole LIV Golf and PGA Tour got in the middle of it, and as a result, it was the game of golf that suffered the consequences.

Though the Saudi-funded players were not part of the European team, even after winning, the Spaniard Jon Rahm paid homage to the Ryder Cup legends Seve Ballesteros and Sergio Garcia in the presser after the match was over, whereas the American team failed to pay tribute to their Ryder Cup legends, such as Jack Nicklaus.

Tune in to find out how things go ahead in the LIV Golf and PGA Tour feud and if things come to rest in the middle of the merger between the two! It will be interesting to see if Koepka playing with the PGA Tour pros will affect his relationship with them in the future or not.

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