Brooks Koepka blows off Bryson DeChambeau's tease at Ryder Cup

[September 24, 2021] The drama surrounding world No. 7 Bryson DeChambeau and No. 10 Brooks Koepka continues to fuel speculation and headlines as the U.S. team attempts to win back the Ryder Cup this week at Whistling Straits. And with less than 24 hours to go before the start of the biennial competition in Wisconsin, it seems there's a new wrinkle.  

The Americans have gone out of their way to mitigate the situation, with U.S. captain Steve Stricker repeatedly insisting there is no beef between the two, and even posting a blink-and-you'll-miss-it clip of the pair on Twitter as they exchanged pleasantries on the practice range Tuesday.

Also Tuesday, DeChambeau was the first to address the "feud" between himself and the four-time major winner. He suggested that not only was the hatchet buried, but they might even partner on a project in the future.

"You know, again, a lot of this social media stuff has definitely been driven by a lot of external factors, not necessarily us two," DeChambeau said. "We had a great -- we had some great conversations at the Tour Championship week when we had dinner, and then this week as well. I sat down and had dinner with him last night, and it was fine.

"I think there may be something fun coming up here moving forward, but I won't speak too much more on that."

But when Koepka greeted the media Thursday, it appeared he had no clue about what DeChambeau was teasing.

"I have no idea," he said when asked directly what the 2020 U.S. Open champ might be referring to. "I didn't listen to the comments or hear what he said, so I have no idea."

As for his take on the state of their relationship, Koepka said, "We are on the same team together. We've had dinner almost every night as a team. I got here on Monday. Everyone who is on our team is interacting and everybody is participating in conversations and doing everything we need to do."

While any future partnership between the two remains a mystery, fans can look to the practice-round pairings to determine likely groupings if called to action for foursomes and/or four-ball matches.

Koepka has been linked to Tony Finau, with whom he partnered in 2018, and he has played two practice rounds with American rookie Daniel Berger. Rookies Harris English and Scottie Scheffler also have played in his group.

DeChambeau has played practice rounds with expected partners Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, as well as Dustin Johnson and rookie Collin Morikawa, with English and Scheffler also rotating into his practice groups.

The 43rd Ryder Cup kicks off Friday morning, with Europe as the defending champion.

--Field Level Media

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