Koepka reacts to criticism from 'Captain America'

3 years ago 390

US golf prima Brooks Koepka reassured fans helium was "good to go" for the Ryder Cup, contempt doubts surrounding his willingness to enactment successful the prestigious event.

Koepka told Golf Digest that Ryder Cup week is hectic and "a spot odd" due to the fact that it takes him from his idiosyncratic regular and leaves him nary clip to decompress.

It was capable to marque erstwhile US skipper Paul Azinger wonderment if Koepka should adjacent play adjacent week.

"I'm not definite helium loves the Ryder Cup that much," Azinger said during a league telephone for NBC Sports, wherever helium present serves arsenic the pb play analyst. "If helium doesn't emotion it, helium should relinquish his spot and get radical determination who bash emotion the Ryder Cup."

But Koepka past told Golf Week that helium is inactive acceptable and raring to spell for the unsocial tournament, adjacent if it is alongside his foe Bryson DeChambeau, with the brace acceptable to beryllium USA teammates.

"I'll beryllium there. I'm bully to go," Koepka, who has been battling immoderate wrist pain, told the magazine.

"I'm feeling good. Been doing my rehab, doing everything I request to bash to beryllium acceptable for the Cup. I'll beryllium determination acceptable to play."

Brooks Koepka (Getty)

For Azinger, the Ryder Cup is personal.

He played 4 times and is champion known for his quality with Seve Ballesteros and an epic conflict with Nick Faldo successful 1993 that led to a draw. Azinger besides was known arsenic "Captain America" successful 2008 erstwhile helium introduced a pod strategy to get the players much invested. The US coiled up beating Europe astatine Valhalla that year.

Koepka ne'er said successful the wide-ranging Golf Digest interrogation that helium didn't similar the Ryder Cup. He has played connected the past 2 teams, and adjacent competed connected an severely injured ankle successful the 2016 PGA Championship successful a bid to suffice for the team, which helium did.

"I don't privation to accidental it's a atrocious week," Koepka told Golf Digest successful a Q&A. "We're conscionable truthful individualised, and everybody has their regular and a antithetic mode of doing things, and now, it's like, OK, we person to person a gathering astatine this clip oregon spell bash this oregon spell bash that. It's the other of what happens during a large week."

Bryson DeChambeau and Brooke Koepka/ (Getty)

Koepka has back-to-back wins successful the US Open and the PGA Championship and has a estimation for playing his champion successful the majors. He does his ain happening and says it's important to power disconnected erstwhile he's not playing.

The Ryder Cup is different.

"It's tough," Koepka said. "There are times wherever I'm like, 'I won my match. I did my job. What bash you privation from me?' I cognize however to instrumentality work for the shots I deed each week. Now, idiosyncratic other deed a atrocious changeable and near maine successful a atrocious spot, and I cognize this spread is simply a loss. That's new, and you person to alteration the mode you deliberation astir things.

"You spell from an idiosyncratic athletics each the clip to a squad athletics 1 week a year," helium said. "It's truthful acold from my mean routine."

Some of his comments reflected the reasoning of Rory McIlroy, who has played each lucifer since his archetypal Ryder Cup successful 2010. McIlroy was asked astir the squad conception 2 weeks agone astatine the Tour Championship.

"You tin beryllium each buddy-buddy, effort to beryllium the champion teammate you can," McIlroy said. "At the extremity of the day, I privation to spell retired and triumph my point. That's each I tin do. I'm a nonrecreational golfer, and by nature, I'm beauteous selfish, and there's nary constituent successful not being selfish successful that.

"The champion happening you tin bash to beryllium a squad subordinate is triumph your point."

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