The U.S. Ryder Cup team seemed like a such a close-knit group this year that even Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka got along. When they saw the shirts that were made featuring both their faces, they probably realized they had no choice.
As the U.S. team was celebrating its historically dominant win over Europe on Sunday night, Bryson DeChambeau was spotted wearing a hilarious shirt. It featured his and Koepka’s faces depicted as the characters from the movie “Step Brothers.”
Where did the shirt come from? It looks like Justin Thomas may have had them made. Thomas shared a photo of himself wearing the shirt on Monday. He also posted a close-up of the shirt on his Instagram story and wrote “I think the team shirts were a success.”
DeChambeau and Koepka became known for their animated feud over the past few years. They may not be best friends, but they certainly put their differences aside at Whistling Straits. They shared a hug after the big win, and U.S. captain Steve Stricker made a shocking revelation about the two major champions.
The U.S. team probably knew the DeChambeau-Koepka dynamic could become awkward at some point. The shirts were a great way of downplaying it.
What on earth did Tommy Fleetwood do in the Team Europe team room at the Ryder Cup this year? That is what fans want to know.
Team Europe was beaten badly by the United States in the Ryder Cup this year, losing 19-9. Despite the defeat, Team Europe had tremendous camaraderie, according to their accounts. And it seems like Fleetwood did something in their team room that helped with their bonding.
On a few occasions during their post-event press conference, the entire group made reference to and had laughs about something Fleetwood did in the team room.
The first instance came when Ian Poulter was talking about how close they were. He mentioned the team room and gave a nod to Fleetwood, which left his teammates laughing.
“Only we know what happens in these team rooms, ay, Tommy?” Poulter said.
A few minutes later, things got really wild.
Europe captain Padraig Harrington was asked what his abiding memory would be. He then started cracking up, and the entire team started laughing for about 30 seconds like they had a big inside joke. Once again, they were laughing about Fleetwood in the team room.
The stuff the players were saying sounded somewhat like the Dani Rojas song from “Ted Lasso.”
Then later on, Viktor Hovland joked about getting to know his teammates better, “maybe a little too well.”
So what did Fleetwood do? Did he streak around the locker room singing his name to the tune of the Dani Rojas song? We need to know! Or maybe that’s just a secret that helped the team bond.
Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau have become known for their notorious feud over the last few years. But their issues may have thawed out over the last week.
The two golfers shared a surprising moment ahead of the Ryder Cup and indicated they were on better terms. They worked things out to the point that US Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker said Sunday the two wanted to play together.
.@stevestricker "I mean Brooks and Bryson wanted to play together, that’s much how it came together."
Koepka played with Daniel Berger and Jordan Spieth. DeChambeau played with Scottie Scheffler.
The real star of the Ryder Cup was Dustin Johnson, who went 5-0 overall. The Americans won so big that you can’t really say they went wrong. But seeing DeChambeau and Koepka teaming together would have caused heads to explode. The two even concluded the Sunday press conference by hugging together in front of the media.
The European Ryder Cup team was dominated by the United States team from start to finish this week, and no one took the loss harder than Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy didn’t play well on Friday or Saturday at Whistling Straits, but he managed to salvage a point when he won his singles match against Xander Schauffele on Sunday. He was quick to deflect any attention away from the individual accomplishment. McIlroy gave an emotional interview with NBC after his round and fought back tears as he spoke about how much playing in the Ryder Cup means to him.
“The more and more I play in this event, I realize that it’s the best event in golf, bar none. I love being a part of it,” McIlroy said. “I can’t wait to be a part of many more. … It’s an absolute privilege. I’ve gotten to do this six times. They’ve always been my greatest experiences in my career. I’ve never really cried or gotten emotional about what I’ve done as an individual — I couldn’t give a s—.”
Europe had won nine of the previous 12 Ryder Cup events heading into this year. The U.S. bucked the trend with a 19-9 thumping, which was the largest margin of victory since continental Europe was introduced to the Ryder Cup in 1979.
McIlroy is only 32, so he’ll have plenty of opportunities to erase the foul stench from 2021. The next Ryder Cup will also be in Europe, so McIlroy’s team will be the one on the receiving end of awesome supportive chants like this.
Tiger Woods was unable to take part in the 2021 Ryder Cup as he recovers from the car crash he was involved in early this year, but the 15-time major champion’s presence was felt early on at Whistling Straits.
Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay had the most surprising performance of the morning foursomes on Friday, as the duo dominated Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter with a 5-and-3 win. Schauffele told the Golf Channel that he and Cantlay received advice from Woods on Thursday night and utilized it when the match was tied.
“We got a nice message from Tiger last night,” Schauffele said. “Obviously I’m not gonna reveal what it said, but Pat and I referred to it a few times today. We knew what we needed to do. … We knew he was fist-pumping from the couch. Whether he was on crutches or not, he was as fired up as anyone back home. It’s nice to have his support.”
Cantlay, who like Schauffele is a Ryder Cup rookie, said he met with Tiger recently to discuss what it’s like playing in the event.
“There’s no better role model, no better leader. He’s just somebody you can learn from,” Cantlay said. “I saw him last week at home and just picked his brain on the Ryder Cup and applied some of that today.”
Bryson DeChambeau may have been a little too amped up for his first match of the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits on Friday, and a spectator unfortunately paid the price.
DeChambeau, who was paired with Scottie Scheffler for afternoon four-ball, bombed his drive at the first hole and missed the fairway. The ball struck a woman in the shin.
DeChambeau hits the ball so far that spectators often unknowingly find themselves in the line of fire. That may have been what happened there. Believe it or not, DeChambeau was actually able to get up and down for birdie from that spot.
DeChambeau has had some well-documented issues with fans this season, but the vast majority were behind him at the Ryder Cup. Hopefully that woman doesn’t hold the drive against him.
Florida State’s football team is off to a horrendous start this season, and even the golf world has taken note. Paul Azinger showcased that during the opening round of the Ryder Cup on Friday.
Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger, two Florida State alumni, were paired together for morning foursomes on Friday. When they finished off Europe’s Lee Westwood and Matt Fitzpatrick with a 2-and-1 victory, Azinger couldn’t resist taking a shot at the Seminoles.
Paul Azinger with the line of the Ryder Cup so far…Koepka and Berger win match and he says
It didn’t take fans at Whistling Straits very long to get into the Ryder Cup spirit on Friday, and one of the best chants of the day game when Collin Morikawa knocked down a big birdie putt.
Morikawa, who was paired with Dustin Johnson for morning foursomes, drained a birdie to give himself and Johnson a commanding 3-up lead over Paul Casey and Viktor Hovland. As the putt was making its way to the hole, someone in the gallery hilariously shouted “freedom!”
Here’s the video:
This “freedom!” chant as Collin Morikawa drained a birdie putt is everything you expect from the Ryder Cup pic.twitter.com/ZkbVURRxjg
The Ryder Cup always brings out the best in fans, and U.S. supporters are even more hungry for a victory this year. They had to wait an extra year to host the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and their side has lost nine of the last 12 tournaments. We’ll see a lot more enthusiasm from the gallery before the weekend ends.
The 2021 Ryder Cup is being held at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, and the European team is trying everything it can to win over some fans ahead of the big event. Their latest tactic made Padraig Harrington a bit uncomfortable.
European golfers arrived at their practice round on Wednesday wearing cheeseheads. That, of course, was a tribute to the Green Bay Packers.
Harrington said wearing the cheesehead was tough for him. Why? The Irishman is a big New England Patriots fans.
European Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington said he's a big Patriots fan, so it was hard at first for him to buy into the team paying tribute to the Packers today at Whistling Straits (team wore their colors and gave out cheeseheads).
The U.S. has lost nine of the last 12 Ryder Cup tournaments, so they certainly need the home fans on their side. They may have to find a way to one-up the European team’s tribute to the Packers. More importantly, they need to avoid some of the chemistry issues that have plagued them in past years.
