Jon Rahm has brushed off Brooks Koepka’s claim that he acted like a child at the Ryder Cup by saying it was not even “low-level ‘Jon’ anger”.
Koepka accused the Spaniard of displaying immature behaviour and pouting during the dramatic closing stages of their opening-day fourballs encounter in Rome on Friday.
Rahm registered two eagles in the final three holes as he and playing partner Nicolai Hojgaard twice came from behind to claim half a point for Europe against American duo Koepka and Scottie Scheffler.
Jon Rahm inspired a dramatic fightback in the fourballs match (Zac Goodwin/PA)
Referring to an incident after the US pair won the 17th hole to move one up, Koepka said after the match: “We birdied 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and lost two (holes). So, yes, 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.”
Rahm did not deny the incident when asked about it on Saturday but played down its seriousness.
He said: “I am not going to stand here and say I am a perfect example of what to do on a golf course. I play and compete the way I think I need to play and compete.
“I am not happy I left a 10-footer short on 17 to possibly tie the hole, and going up to the tee I let out some frustration hitting a board sideways. I kept walking. That was it.
“Brooks thinks that’s childish. It is what it is. He is entitled to think what he thinks. I don’t know what else to say but I am very comfortable with who I am and what I do.
Brooks Koepka was frustrated at the outcome (Zac Goodwin/PA)
“I have done much worse on a golf course, so that doesn’t even register to a low level of ‘Jon’ anger on a golf course.”
The fightback by Rahm and Hojgaard capped a superb first day for Europe which they ended 6.5-1.5 ahead and they celebrated exuberantly.
Rahm believes Koepka’s remarks probably came out of frustration.
He said: “I’ve never had an issue with Brooks. I don’t know now, but up until yesterday afternoon I thought we had a pretty good relationship.
“Listen, had I seen somebody make the putt on 18 the way I did, I would not have been the happiest of people either.
“Clearly there was a little bit of luck involved with that but it is match play. I think we saw plenty of the opposite when we were at Whistling Straits two years ago.”
JON RAHM!!! 💪🇪🇺#TeamEurope pic.twitter.com/Fa0ZUH4hwZ
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) September 30, 2023
Rahm was back in action in the foursomes with Tyrell Hatton on Saturday morning and the pair beat Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele 2&1. They were both then rested in the afternoon.
Rahm said: “As a competitor you want to keep going but we had a couple players finish early that had been better rested.
“It’s mentally draining and (captain) Luke (Donald) has to do whatever he thinks is best.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here