Ryder Cup: Brooks Koepka hits out at ‘child’ Jon Rahm after dominant opening day for Team Europe

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Jon Rahm produced two stunning shots to eagle the par-five 18th hole at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club and claim a thrilling half in the match against Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler in the Ryder Cup.

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.

Rahm eagled two of the final three holes at Marco Simone as he and Nicolai Hojgaard came from behind to earn a tie in their fourballs match against Koepka and Scottie Scheffler.

The 28-year-old world No 3, 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.

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Jon Rahm credits partner Nicolai Højgaard with his performance in the fourballs and says the Dane used Seve Ballesteros as a source of inspiration for the Spaniard.

Koepka said in a TV interview: “I think me and Scottie birdied 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and then ‘lost’ (to) two (eagles). 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.

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Jon Rahm chipped in for eagle to win the 16th and tie the match on Friday afternoon

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 [Rahm] was a big support system for Nicolai [Hojgaard] today. Jon’s a passionate person, but I didn’t see him acting any other way.”

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Luke Donald praised his team’s performance on the first day of the Ryder Cup as they notched five match victories across foursomes and fourballs.

United States skipper Zach Johnson added: “I don’t know what that is referring to to. I am sure Brooks [Koepka] is frustrated like all 18 of us are with today and the result.”

Team USA hit by illness?

Johnson was reluctant to go into details about the specifics of the illness affecting his team but when pressed on the matter, the American captain admitted it had impacted some of his decision-making.

“We have contingencies and things of that nature based on a lot of things,” he said. “I would say that we’d love to have everything drawn out way ahead of time but there’s certain things you cannot control and we are trying to control the controllable in our team room, and I’ll leave it at that.

“There’s been some unforeseen things that we’ve had to navigate around, which is really unfortunate, in the sense of health. It’s not an excuse because we have depth but I’ll just say I’m grateful we have a team doctor.

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Viktor Hovland produced some stunning shots on the way to partnering Ludvig Aberg to a 4&3 victory over Max Homa and Brian Harman.

“It’s kind of passed around a little bit, caddies, players. It is what it is. But it’s nothing more than that. Guys are fighting and playing regardless. We have got some congestion and some just signs of things that are unfortunate.

“It’s one of those where sometimes the energy is probably a little low, but the ability and desire to go out and play is still there. It has spread through my team.”

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