Paul Azinger’s history with the Ryder Cup goes back more than 30 years, and it’s hard to find anyone more passionate about competition, even now in his role as a broadcaster.
So the 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup captain was not far behind on Wednesday when asked about Brooks Koepka, who in a recent Golf Digest interview revealed that he was frustrated by the way the event goes. an individual player of which he is accustomed to make habitual event.
“I’m not sure he loves the Ryder Cup so much, if he doesn’t love it, he should give up his place and get people to love him,” Azinger said. “Not everyone embraces it.” But if you don’t like it and you’re not exhausted, I think Brooks, especially hurt, should consider whether he really wants to be there. And if you add the Bryson [DeChambeau] dynamic with that, it would be an even easier decision for him. “
Koepka, 31, injured his left wrist and retired during the third round of the Tour Championship two weeks ago when he hit a tree root with a full turn out of the dirt. He made two more holes before retiring and said it was a precaution, because he had previous problems with wrist injuries.
He has also had an ongoing dispute with DeChambeau, with US captain Steve Stricker asking the two players to leave him aside when the Americans face Team Europe later this month.
There have been no official updates on Koepka’s condition and his agent, Blake Smith, has not been available for comment.
Koepka was the only one of the 12 players on the American team who did not attend a training session earlier this week at Whistling Straits, site of matches starting on September 24th.
In a lengthy interview posted Tuesday on Golf Digest, Koepka said, “It’s hard. There are times when I’m like, I won my game. I did my job. What do you want from me? I know how to take responsibility for the shots. I did it every week.Now, someone else made a bad shot and left me in a bad place, and I know this hole is a loss.This is new and you have to change your way of thinking about things. individual all the time in a team sport one week a year. It’s so far from my normal routine. “