Matchplay has a way of producing wild momentum swings and even wilder emotional swings, as evidenced by the final four holes of the Brooks Koepka/Scottie Scheffler vs Jon Rahm/Nicolai Højgaard four-ball match overnight. And by something that was said by Koepka in the immediate aftermath.
In fairness to Koepka, Rahm had just ripped his and Scheffler’s hearts out of their chests, chipping in for eagle at the par-4 16th to square the match. Scheffler was able to take back the lead with a birdie at 17, but the Spaniard made another eagle at the 18th, banging his putt off the backboard and watching it bounce up into the air before settling in the cup, earning the European duo a shocking half. It was a stunning turn of events in a series of stunning turns of events that saw the U.S. team go from thinking they would get back in this thing to being down by five points heading into Saturday.
In other words, emotions were running very high, which might explain why Koepka let this one fly during a post-round interview.
“I mean, I think me and Scottie birdied, what did we say, 14, we birdied 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and then lost by two,” Koepka said (they tied the match). “So yeah. 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.”
Oh boy.
Koepka has never been afraid to speak his mind or call out something, or someone in this case. But even for him, this is a bit shocking. He and Rahm seemingly got on quite well on Sunday at this year’s Masters, where Rahm shot 69 to Koepka’s 75 for a four-stroke victory. Perhaps the sting of another gutting loss to his fellow former No.1 got the best of him here. As of now, Rahm has not responded, though there’s no indication he’s even heard or seen Koepka’s comments. Yet.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
