SANDWICH, England – While Brooks Koepka seemed perfectly at ease throwing even more gas on the raging fire that is his relationship with Bryson DeChambeau, the PGA Tour’s mad scientist took a much more congenial approach.
DeChambeau, who has been embroiled in an intensely public dust-up with Koepka since the PGA Championship in May, was asked on Tuesday at The Open if he’d have a problem playing a team match alongside Koepka at this fall’s Ryder Cup.
“Oh, no, not at all. I think it would be kind of funny actually,” DeChambeau said. “I think we'd do well, to be honest. It would create a little interesting vibe for the team or for the guys we're playing against.”
Earlier in the day at Royal St. George’s, Koepka was asked a similar question and had a dramatically different response.
“I'm not playing with him. I'm pretty sure we're not going to be paired together, put it that way. I think it's kind of obvious,” Koepka said. “We're not going to be high-fiving and having late-night conversations. I do my thing; he does his thing.”
DeChambeau and Koepka are currently second and fourth, respectively, on the U.S. points list and will likely qualify for the team, which will leave American captain Steve Stricker in a position to decide how close or how far apart to keep them.