Ryder Cup
Ryder Cup 2023: 'Act like a child': Brooks Koepka takes a wild shot at Jon Rahm after tense match
David Cannon
Match play has a way of producing wild momentum swings and even wilder emotional swings, as evidenced by the final four holes of the Brooks Koepka/Scottie Scheffler vs. Jon Rahm/Nicolai Højgaard fourball match on Friday afternoon at the Ryder Cup. And by something that was said by Koepka in the immediate aftermath.
In fairness to Koepka, Rahm had just ripped he and Scheffler's hearts out of their chests, chipping in for eagle at the par-4 16th to square the match. Scheffler was able to take back the lead with a birdie at 17, but the Spaniard made another eagle at the 18th, banging his putt off the backboard and watching it bounce up into the air before settling in the cup, earning the Euros a shocking halve. It was a stunning turn of events in a series of stunning turns of events that saw the U.S. team go from thinking it would get back in this thing to being down by five points heading into Saturday.
In other words, emotions were running very high, which might explain why Koepka let this one fly during a post-round interview.
"I mean, I think me and Scottie birdied, what did we say, 14, we birdied 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and then lost by two," Koepka said (they tied the match). "So yeah. I mean, I want to hit a board and pout just like Jon Rahm did. But, you know, it is what it is. Act like a child. But we're adults. We move on."
More From Golf Digest
Oh boy.
Koepka has never been afraid to speak his mind or call something, or someone in this case, out. But even for him, this is a bit shocking. He and Rahm seemingly got on quite well on Sunday at this past year's Masters, where Rahm shot 69 to Koepka's 75 for a four-stroke victory. Perhaps the sting of another gutting loss to his fellow former No. 1 got the best of him here. As of now, Rahm has not responded, though there's no indication he's even heard or seen Koepka's comments. Yet.