Team USA’s former Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger has said that Brooks Koepka should withdraw from the competition if he is not committed to the cause.
The tournament, which sees the Americans take on Team Europe, begins next week, and former world No1 Koepka is among those to have been selected for Team USA by this year’s captain, Steve Stricker.
Koepka, a four-time major winner, spoke out this week about the “odd” and “hectic” nature of the Ryder Cup, which the Americans are attempting to win back from Team Europe following defeat in 2018.
Azinger, who captained Team USA to a Ryder Cup victory in Louisville, Kentucky in 2008, has now said that Koepka need not take part in this year’s edition of the competition, which takes place at Whistling Straits in Haven, Wisconsin.
“Not everyone embraces it, I know players who felt that way,” Azinger said this week, per the BBC.
“Brooks is one of the most honest guys and if he is honest with himself and if he doesn’t want to be there, he should say it – especially because he is hurt.”
Koepka, 31, had also said of the Ryder Cup: “You go from an individual sport all the time to a team sport one week a year.
“I can barely see my [coaching] team. It’s hard to even go to the gym.
“It’s more demanding than I’m used to, and there’s a lot of emotion there, so by Sunday you’re just dead.”
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