Brooks Koepka accused Jon Rahm of acting like a child after the Spaniard’s stunning afternoon performance at the Ryder Cup in Rome on Friday.
The Spaniard eagled two of the final three holes at Marco Simone as he and Nicolai Hojgaard came from behind to halve their fourballs match against Koepka and Scottie Scheffler.
Rahm, who chipped in three times in his two matches during the day, celebrated exuberantly as Europe took firm command of the contest, leading 6.5-1.5 after day one.
It was not clear, however, what Rahm did in particular to rile the American.
Koepka said in a TV interview: ‘I think me and Scottie [Scheffler] birdied 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and then ‘lost’ (to) two (eagles).
Brooks Koepka (right) has slammed Jon Rahm (left) after the conclusion of the first day of the Ryder Cup
Rahm rescued a half point for Team Europe in the afternoon fourball by eagling two of the final three holes
‘So yes, 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.’
Koepka alluded to this subject again when asked what the US needed to do on Saturday to get themselves back into the match.
Rahm and Viktor Hovland (right) produced a stunning fourball performance on day one at the Ryder Cup
Koepka believes Team USA can fight back against Europe over the weekend
He said: ‘Honestly, we’ll be fine. We’re all grown-ups, we act like grown-ups. We’ll be just fine. Just got to play and see where it puts you. ‘Just keep fighting. You never know what’s going to happen. (We have) still got a long day tomorrow.
‘I guess it’s just a matter of momentum, but we’ve got to go out in the first session and play well, that’s for sure.’
Europe captain Luke Donald was asked about Rahm’s comments but did not offer an opinion.
‘I certainly didn’t see any of that,’ Donald said. ‘Jon was a big support system for Nicolai today. Jon’s a passionate person, but I didn’t see him acting any other way.’
