Brooks Koepka has delivered a warning to the European players ahead of Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.
Koepka refused to blame LIV Golf for his failure to make the Ryder Cup team, and rightly so.
However, that doesn’t mean that Koepka isn’t massively disappointed to have missed out on Keegan Bradley’s Ryder Cup team.
Koepka made no secret of his desire to qualify for the Ryder Cup this year, but his golf simply wasn’t good enough during the major championships.
While the American team isn’t as strong as it was back in 2021, the five-time major champion can have no complaints about missing out on the team.
That said, there was definitely an opportunity for Koepka to make Bradley’s side, considering some of the names selected by the Ryder Cup skipper last Wednesday.
While the American team undoubtedly have some issues that need to be addressed over the next few weeks, the Europeans seem to be in a pretty healthy spot right now.
However, winning a Ryder Cup away from home is never an easy thing to do, especially in New York.
Brooks Koepka warns European Ryder Cup players ahead of Bethpage showdown
Luke Donald‘s players will be well aware that an extremely hostile environment awaits them at Bethpage Black later this month.
The outcome of the 45th edition of the Ryder Cup may well depend upon how well the European players handle the atmosphere, with what will undoubtedly be a vociferous New York crowd cheering on the home team.
When speaking to Off The Ball ahead of the Irish Open this week, Koepka was asked about the upcoming Ryder Cup.
“I’m disappointed I’m missing it, especially in New York, New York crowds are fun,“ Koepka said.
He was then asked how hostile Bethpage will be for the European players later this month.
“Yeah, it just kind of depends how they interpret it or how they process it, and how they deal with the fans. If they have a joke and laugh with the fans it makes it a lot easier.
“But you get a guy like Poults who chirps back and then that’s done for the rest of the week, they’re going to be on him, you know something like that.“
Ian Poulter’s stand-off with Michael Jordan during the Ryder Cup at Medinah
Back at Medinah in 2012, Ian Poulter put in a phenomenal performance throughout the week, and he was the hero behind Team Europe’s incredible turnaround.
Poulter is certainly no shrinking violet and he took part in plenty of back-and-forth banter with the American fans in Illinois.
The Englishman finished Saturday’s final four-ball match with five consecutive birdies to earn Europe a vital point – one that eventually won them the Ryder Cup.
And it was during that match when Poulter had somewhat of an altercation with NBA legend Michael Jordan.
When speaking on the Golf.com Podcast, Poulter opened up on how Jordan’s presence at Medinah spurred him on.
“I love basketball, so MJ being there was giving me a buzz. Then as that match was closing out, he was becoming more prominent and his position of where he was standing was becoming more and more invasive, shall I say.
“The closest he got was when he kind of gave me a little jab in the chest going from the 16th green after I’ve holed the 25-footer downhill left to right. I’m walking off the green and I just see him. He’s right in my walkway. And he just wags his finger and shakes his head as if to say, ‘You son of a… how dare you hole that putt?’ And as I was walking past him, he gives me a little jab, and I’m saying to myself, ‘You know, you’re going to have to hit me harder than that’.
“I was trying to stick it to everyone but it was like, how dare he be in my space, how dare he be in my zone, how dare he be on my court, giving me s–t? So I’m like, ‘OK, if that’s how you want to play it, this is what you’re going to get’.”
The thing with Poulter at the Ryder Cup was that while he engaged in banter with the fans, his golf was good enough to back it up.
If any European players are considering doing the same at Bethpage, they had better possess a similar mentality to Poulter.
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