Igniting the Ryder Cup hype a year early? What a bold move here by Brooks Koepka, who was not only paired with Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia, but was also teeing it up in Spain at LIV Golf Andalucia when he opted to rock an England jersey in support of them for the 2024 Euro Final.
Brooks’ LIV team Smash GC gave us a behind-the-scenes look at him before he strode to the tee box, and you can also hear the announcers reacting in real time.
Grouped with two Spaniards? Gotta rock the @England kit to the tee❗@bkoepka showing his @EURO2024 support before today's final round #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/M8vuJWZX4h
— Smash GC (@SmashGC) July 14, 2024
🚨🏌🏼♂️🏴 Brooks Koepka showed up to his pairing with Rahm & Sergio wearing an England jersey ahead of the Euro Final 😵
⚽️ Who wins today? 🏴 or 🇪🇸
pic.twitter.com/FNNeTORNjh— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) July 14, 2024
Sergio rocking the yellow pants again. His green shirt-yellow trouser combo was quite the sight at this year’s Masters Tournament. But on this day, the mustard-ketchup pairing is all about patriotism. It feels like Sergio tends to fare well when there’s a little something extra going on to fuel his emotions. He’s historically a stellar Ryder Cup player. In this case, he’s actually tied for the lead with less than a handful of holes left. Way to go, Serg!
As for Rahm, let’s check in on him (from yesterday)!
Jon Rahm still loving his time in LIV. 🤬
Someone needs to translate this from Spanish for me. Fake or real translation I don’t care, either way.
— Rick Golfs (@Top100Rick) July 13, 2024
The man has never met a hot mic he can’t bilingually curse into and I love him for it. Good for Brooks to bring a little lightness to Rahmbo’s Sunday. It’s been a tough year for him between injuries and subpar play by his standards. Somebody should remind him he signed with LIV for at least $300 million.
Now that Keegan Bradley is the Team USA Ryder Cup captain, whether it was intentional or not, Brooks’ gesture toward his fellow competitors is sure to get him on the radar for 2025’s next battle with the Europeans. Only the top six Americans in the US rankings qualify for the team, so Brooks will need a captain’s pick to get on the squad. It’s not necessarily a lock that he’ll get one unless he shows better form in the next year or so. He’s finished outside the top 25 in his last four major starts since winning the 2023 PGA Championship.
The 2025 Ryder Cup will be held at Bethpage Black in New York. Just so happens to be the site of the 2002 U.S. Open, where the gallery jeered Sergio for taking too many waggles before he swung. Too bad he’s well past his prime, because it would’ve been awesome to see him back there. Maybe he’ll make the trip as a vice captain, who knows.
Should be a fun Sunday in golf. As LIV’s tournament wraps up, the Scottish Open sets the stage nicely for The Open Championship next week.
