Jon Rahm has vowed never to alter his passionate approach on the golf course despite being labelled a “child” by Brooks Koepka. The American called out Rahm in the aftermath of a Friday afternoon match in the Ryder Cup.
“I’m not going to stand here and say I am perfect example of what to do on a golf course,” said Rahm. “But I play and compete. I play and compete the way I think I need to play and compete.
“Whatever he says, it shouldn’t change the way I approach this tournament. That’s it. I’m here to do my job and whatever comments anybody else may have shouldn’t really change the way I go about it or what I think of myself.”
Rahm did at least clarify what Koepka’s somewhat cryptic comments directly referred to. The Masters champion holed a lengthy putt at the final hole to afford Europe a half point in the fourball match.
“I was not happy I left a 10-footer short on 17 to possibly tie the hole,” Rahm explained. “And going up to the tee, I let off some frustration hitting the [advertising] board sideways. I kept walking, never stopped, that was it. If Brooks thinks that’s childish, it is what it is. He’s entitled to think what he thinks.
“I’m very happy with who I am. I needed to do that at that moment to let off some steam and play the hole I wanted to do. And clearly it worked out, played two great shots and got a little lucky on the putt. I needed to do what I needed to do to perform under those circumstances. Is it right or wrong, childish or not, I don’t know, but that’s what I needed at the moment.”
Rahm did suggest he will not forget Koepka’s sentiment in a hurry. “I have never had an issue with Brooks,” he said. “Up until yesterday afternoon, I thought we had a pretty good relationship.”
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As Koepka and Scottie Scheffler suffered a record 9&7 foursomes defeat on Saturday morning, Rahm was combining with Tyrrell Hatton to see off Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele. “I think trying to avoid outside noise is the best thing to do,” said Hatton. “Just go about your business and try and have, like, tunnel vision towards your goal of what you’re trying to achieve.
“Especially on a week like this, tensions are high. Emotions are pretty high. Sometimes certain things might be said or may be taken out of context, but I don’t think you can really look into that too deeply. I think you just carry on. In our team room, we are all good. We are enjoying each other’s company and not really looking at the outside at all.”
