The feud between American golfers Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau has been a hot topic in the golf world for weeks, but it seems like they might have finally put their differences aside.
The Ryder Cup is a professional golf tournament that takes place every two years. It is contested between the top-ranked players in the world. This year, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau have agreed to stop their feuding as they prepare for the Ryder Cup.
MARYLAND’S OWINGS MILLS — Steve Stricker, the captain of the United States Ryder Cup team, said he’s talked to Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka personally about putting their long-running rivalry to bed for the sake of American golf, and both have promised it won’t be a problem at Whistling Straits.
However, whether that remains true depends on how Koepka and DeChambeau feel about Stricker disclosing their truce to a reporter.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Stricker claimed he talked with each of them over the phone and received assurance that their mutual dislike wouldn’t be a distraction for an American team that has only won two Ryder Cups in the previous 20 years.
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According to the 54-year-old skipper, both players promised to cease openly sniping at each other. At the very least, they decided to halt.
Stricker added, “They assured me that the team, the nation, and everything else that goes into this is their [first concern].” “They assured me that it would not be a problem, and I trust them. They have my confidence. It’s been put to rest, as far as I’m concerned.”
The dispute between the two, which mostly played out on social media following the PGA Championship at Kiawah, has already calmed down, according to Stricker.
“We haven’t heard Brooks mention Bryson in a long time,” Stricker added. “The Ryder Cup is very important to these golfers. Neither of them wants to be the source of the issue. They are both aware of the situation.”
When questioned about DeChambeau, Koepka has been honest, admitting that he dislikes him and has enjoyed teasing him in different ways, but he has also said that he doesn’t think it will be a problem for Team USA when they compete in Wisconsin from Sept. 24-26.
During The Open, Koepka told reporters, “It’s just a week.” “Look, I’ll set it aside for the time being. If we’re on the same team, I’ll be able to cope with anybody for a week.”
However, when it comes to individuals in golf remarking on anything Koepka has done or said, he has proven that he can be a bit of an iconoclast at times. At Stricker’s suggestion, it’s easy to picture him putting his dispute with DeChambeau aside. It’s also simple to picture him reengaging it in the blink of an eye since he didn’t like the fact that Stricker was ready to do so.
Since being widely chastised for saying, after testing positive for COVID-19 prior to the Tokyo Olympics, that he wasn’t going to get vaccinated for the virus because he wanted to save the shot for someone who needed it more than he did, DeChambeau has said little in the last month, boycotting all post-round interviews with print reporters.
When asked whether there was any possibility he’d go against the grain and pair Koepka and DeChambeau at the Ryder Cup, Stricker basically dismissed the notion, comparing it to Hal Sutton’s choice to team Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in 2004 at the height of their animosity against one other.
Stricker told SI, “I’m not going to tell you there’s no possibility.” “But I don’t think it’ll happen. They don’t seem to want to play together.”