Azinger calls out Koepka on his Ryder Cup comments

[NJBigFish22]

18 minutes ago, Fairway14 said:

Is below the Koepka commentary (from Golf Digest interview) which the OP is about ?

 

For virtually all of your career, you get to set the schedule and make the rules and be responsible for your own performance. How does that mesh with the Ryder Cup experience? Is it strange being on a team?

It’s different. It’s hectic. It’s a bit odd, if I’m honest. I don’t want to say it’s a bad week. We’re just so individualized, and everybody has their routine and a different way of doing things, and now, it’s like, OK, we have to have a meeting at this time or go do this or go do that. It’s the opposite of what happens during a major week. If I break down a major week, it’s so chill. You wouldn’t even believe me. I go to the course. I play nine holes. I go work out. Other than that, I’m sitting and watching TV, taking my mind off golf with relaxing stuff. The physical part, I can handle. The mental side, you have to be able to turn it off. Sometimes, the power comes from being able to turn it on. But for me, I get power from turning it off. That’s been a huge, huge thing for me that I really haven’t understood until the past five or six years of my career.

Yes that was his comment.  Brooks is right in my opinion.  Golf is an individual sport.  Once every 2 years it becomes a team sport.  If you are a person that goes to the course do your work and leave, then the extra stuff that none of us knows about you have to do, I can see not enjoying.  Doesn’t mean you don’t want to win or not love your country.  Azinger’s comments are just a talking head that needs to open his mouth and share his opinion.  

 

So did Azinger make any comments about BDC and him wrecking his hands prepping for a long drive competition the day after the RC ends.  Seems he cares more about that than the RC.

[kasting333]

38 minutes ago, hogans71 said:

And therein lies the problem. The notion that a certain select number of players(and this goes back a good 20 years) cannot put aside their all about me, monetary existence speaks volumes- at least in my eyes. At no point in the history of golf are more (relatively, of course) mediocre golfers being awarded with wealth beyond their wildest dreams, yet feel as if this event is some sort of inconvenience, is absolutely stunning. And before anyone goes all fun house mirrors, as a commodity trader of 25 years, nobody loves the free market enterprise more than me. 

 

I just find it amazing that a number of dudes don't get completely jacked for this event. Many of us find this to be one of the best sporting events of any season. 

 

I don't know. I guess hitting 50 does this to ya...

If the US wasn’t the overwhelming favorite every time there would be more passion. There’s not much to gain for these top guys on the US squad. Similar to USA basketball. 

[dmeeksDC]

I read the entire lengthy interview in Golf Digest and he is not impressive. You can tell Brooksie thinks he comes off as some deep thinker. He offers a lot of psycho-babble and just sounds spoiled rotten to me. His whole world is all about him. He’s free to say what he wants. I’m free to not like him. Too many interviews in which he sounds arrogant, dismissive and projects that he finds everything about what he does for a living to be a boring and monotonous burden. So for the one week of Ryder Cup it is such a huge disruption in his routine to come to some team meetings? Says he never could do the team thing? Poor baby. I wouldn’t want him on my team. I’ll be pulling for the Europeans in all of his matches.

 

Saying he can see himself averaging one major win per year for the next 14 years is laughable. Delusional. He won’t come close. In terms of drive and competitiveness, he is not close to Tiger or Jack. I can’t believe he puts himself in their company. Koepka is the next Duval, not the next Jack or Tiger. Those guys play to win. Brooksie plays to complain about having to play. 
 

Rock on Zinger. He often says what I’m thinking. Koepka gives off the vibe that he is doing all of us a favor by playing on the US team. Stricker should toss him and bring in Billy Ho or Reed.

[oikos1]

Kizner is so spot on.  The "team" should be selected much earlier to provide some mandatory bonding time.  Beers, gambling, ping pong, wrestling in loincloths, whatever.   When it's just a "guns for hire" approach, eventually they have no one left to shoot but each other.

[Joe Mannix]

Brooks is all about Brooks, and I've already stated weeks ago how the Ryder Cup means nothing to him...would you really want to be his partner???  Na, Kisner, or Reed would cut off their arm to be on the team...hell, give me Charlie Hoffman...awesome player, and the guys would live him!  BTW, not crazy about Webb Simpson having success either.....don't ask me why....can't put my finger on it...just a hunch.

[Christosterone]

3 hours ago, bscinstnct said:

The 2021 US Ryder Cup epic

 

you had me at helms deep!

 

-chris

[Fairway14]

1 hour ago, kasting333 said:

If the US wasn’t the overwhelming favorite every time there would be more passion. There’s not much to gain for these top guys on the US squad. Similar to USA basketball. 

Europe has won 9 of the past 12 Ryder Cup's.

[jgonz69]

6 hours ago, mark m said:

Azinger should stay home.

5-7-3 record.

His teams never lost as a player and as a captain in the Ryder Cup, a TEAM event

[MUNIGRIT]

The real reason he isn't into the RC that much is he wants to get paid for it. 

[Shilgy]

40 minutes ago, Fairway14 said:

Europe has won 9 of the past 12 Ryder Cup's.

Yes they have….and been underdogs in all of them.  Which is what he was saying. How many on the US squad lost those 9 times?  
 

Part of the issue for the US guys, and it sounds minor but is it really, is they do this every year.  Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup. I am sure it would get old quickly for the top guys that are expected to play in all of them.

 

Most all of the world wants to beat the mighty USA.  Pure and simple in most endeavors that is fact.

[grm24]

4 minutes ago, jgonz69 said:

His teams never lost as a player and as a captain in the Ryder Cup, a TEAM event

Azinger was on the losing 2002 RC team.

[3whacker]

Do I care what Koepka thinks about the RC ? NOPE

Do I think he is the only player that thinks that way ? NOPE

 

Do I care what Zinger thinks ? wont lose one minute of  thought on it

[jgonz69]

24 minutes ago, grm24 said:

Azinger was on the losing 2002 RC team.

Good for you read the record wrong, so only lost once, still better than most.

[grm24]

20 minutes ago, jgonz69 said:

Good for you read the record wrong, so only lost once, still better than most.

No doubt.

[tw_focus]

Azinger needs to shut his mouth. If he has a problem with BK then he needs to speak with BK personally, not go behind his back a few days before the tournament. That's chicken ****.

[Valtiel]

4 hours ago, Shilgy said:

Do you have a link supporting that hypothesis?  I don’t recall Reed saying anything similar.

 

Is the hate for Reed really so great that, for example, a Sergio or Poulter is praised for their  gang ho enthusiasm about their Ryder Cup play based on team but a Reed is bashed for his enthusiasm because it is decided it is for ego?

 

3 hours ago, jj9000 said:

 

Help me understand the twisted logic...smothered in Reed hate here.

 

Reed is on a Team.

The goal of the Team is to Win.

Reed wants to Win.

A result of Reed Winning helps the Team.

A result of Reed Losing hurts the Team.

Reed wanted to Win...and he Won (even under your made-up pretense)

Reed helped his Team.

 

...but yeah...let's get wrapped around the axle about supposed media driven nicknames...which have zero to do with the results.  Call him "I-Hate-Reed-For-Fill-In-The-Blank" if it makes you feel better.  I don't really give a damn if he's called "Captain America"...or "Chump that hits golf balls".  The bottom line is that he wanted to Win...he did...and he still does.

I don't know why my response was twisted into a "Reed hate" post as I said nothing to that end, and you seem awfully defensive @jj9000 for someone that is ostensibly NOT Patrick or his wife, so let's take it down a notch. 

What I AM saying is that wrapping this up in nauseating amounts of nationalism for the sake of chest beating feels gross and fabricated, and has nothing to do with winning. There is a lot hate around Reed, most of which is self inflicted by his words and actions, but if he can help the team win then he should be chosen, NOT because USA! USA! USA! The problem is that he did not qualify with his play AND was very recently severely ill. He is also an EXTREMELY aggressive player in these sorts of comps according to those that have played doubles with him, and that is a big risk for someone not currently at or near the top of his game. 

The other reason I want to pump the brakes on the USA USA! stuff is that it feels like the same blind fanboying that happened around someone like Tim Tebow. Granted Reed is far more accomplished and talented, but its this pseudo cult of personality that overrides rational decision making because he did well in the past and shushed McIlroy. Cool, that is/was fun at the time, but we're dealing in the present reality of a recently hospitalized player who, even without said hospitalization, did not qualify on his own merits. No amount of yelling in bold letters makes this NOT a very relevant factor. 

[Tpfol]

3 hours ago, kasting333 said:

If the US wasn’t the overwhelming favorite every time there would be more passion. There’s not much to gain for these top guys on the US squad. Similar to USA basketball. 

Except the US still wins in basketball, every time....

[elwhippy]

Drop the President's Cup as the US gets to think winning is easy. When the motivated Europe team arrive they are over confident and get thumped. 

[Pleasedwith3putts]

10 hours ago, jj9000 said:

I'd much rather Reed be on the squad than Brooks.

 

Love him or Hate him...Reed wants to win for the USA.

 

He wants to win so badly that he's not afraid to stand-up and call out the politics...even if it hurts feelings...and pisses people off.

 

Remember this??

 

 

 

Then about a minute later...nope...not in MY HOUSE...USA...USA...USA!!

 

 

The best part about it is you can see Rors smiling when he walks away. Fierce competition but done in the right spirit.

[MattyO1984]

Azinger has certainly parlayed beating the worst European Team of its generation into some form of savant like status when it comes to the Ryder Cup.

 

The comments in the interview were not great but equally, I am not sure that they were that that bad. I mean was there anything that he said which surprised people? Reading them - lack of time, taking players out of their routine, etc - there was nothing in there that hasn’t already been acknowledged by others. It just seems that Brooks has the attitude that he is not going to hide those things. It’s a far cry from the Brooks that was so dull that they didn’t even ask him to come into the press tent. I prefer this Brooks!

 

Also on Patrick Reed being a better pick than him? This is the same Patrick Reed that set out to undermine Spieth before the 2018 Cup (a fight he must have know there was no way he was going to win). Then when he gets there, he threw Furyk under the bus, claimed that he carried Tiger when it was patently obvious that Reed himself played horrendously and then he went after Spieth again.

[kasting333]

7 hours ago, Fairway14 said:

Europe has won 9 of the past 12 Ryder Cup's.

Oh Europe must be the favorite to win again this year, right?

[BlackDiamondPar5]

14 hours ago, jj9000 said:

I'd much rather Reed be on the squad than Brooks.

 

Love him or Hate him...Reed wants to win for the USA.

 

He wants to win so badly that he's not afraid to stand-up and call out the politics...even if it hurts feelings...and pisses people off.

 

Remember this??

 

 

 

Then about a minute later...nope...not in MY HOUSE...USA...USA...USA!!

 

How many eternities ago was that?

 

[Fairway14]

5 minutes ago, kasting333 said:

Oh Europe must be the favorite to win again this year, right?

I imagine that Team USA players head into the Ryder Cup hearing about and knowing that Team Europe has been winning. The sentiment is likely "let's not lose again" . Labeling one team a "favorite" might be a media or spectator thing but I doubt the players do it.

[Hawkeye77]

7 hours ago, tw_focus said:

Azinger needs to shut his mouth. If he has a problem with BK then he needs to speak with BK personally, not go behind his back a few days before the tournament. That's chicken ****.

 

Commentator asked for comment about something that is his area of expertise should "shut his mouth"?  

[hogans71]

7 hours ago, tw_focus said:

Azinger needs to shut his mouth. If he has a problem with BK then he needs to speak with BK personally, not go behind his back a few days before the tournament. That's chicken ****.

Behind his back? 

 

Did BK not give an interview? 

 

It's not as if it's some set of unsubstantiated rumors floating around the locker room...

[Hawkeye77]

14 hours ago, jj9000 said:

I'd much rather Reed be on the squad than Brooks.

 

Love him or Hate him...Reed wants to win for the USA.

 

He wants to win so badly that he's not afraid to stand-up and call out the politics...even if it hurts feelings...and pisses people off.

 

Remember this??

 

 

 

Then about a minute later...nope...not in MY HOUSE...USA...USA...USA!!

 

 

 

[FriedEgg]

Azinger gets paid to stir the pot - anyone surprised he's doing just that? 

[dlygrisse]

This is all orchestrated planned banter to get the buzz going on the socials and sites like this.  

[JaNelson38]

15 hours ago, ShowMe said:

"Brooks, I just read that article, I’m not sure he loves the Ryder Cup that much," Azinger said during an NBC Golf call with the media. "If he doesn’t love it, he should relinquish his spot and get people there who do love the Ryder Cup."

 

"Not everybody embraces it. But if you don’t love it, and you’re not sold out, then I think Brooks should, you know, especially being hurt, consider whether or not he really wants to be there."

 

"And then if you add the Bryson dynamic to that, that might be an easier decision for him. But Brooks is one of the most candid, most honest guys there ever ism and if he’s blatantly honest with himself and he doesn’t want to be there, he should come out and say it. But, I don’t know, I’m a fan of both players, and I just feel like it’s gonna be one or the other. They’re gonna put the weight of the team on their shoulders or they’re gonna be a pain in the neck."

 

Wow.  Way to go Brooksie.  Creating dissention before the match even starts.

 

'Dissention'?  Ha!

 

I guarantee you none - not one - of the 11 other players on the Ryder Cup roster care one lick about Brooks' Golf Digest interview, or Azinger's comments during a media call (lol).

 

More stupid, eye-rolling crap from the usual suspects like Azinger in an effort to create 'drama' and try to steer ratings up for the Ryder Cup next week.  As if these guys are literally going to war and they'll be taking caskets back to Europe when its all over.

 

It's. A. Golf. Exhibition.

[Hawkeye77]

2 minutes ago, JaNelson38 said:

 

'Dissention'?  Ha!

 

I guarantee you none - not one - of the 11 other players on the Ryder Cup roster care one lick about Brooks' Golf Digest interview, or Azinger's comments during a media call (lol).

 

More stupid, eye-rolling crap from the usual suspects like Azinger in an effort to create 'drama' and try to steer ratings up for the Ryder Cup next week.  As if these guys are literally going to war and they'll be taking caskets back to Europe when its all over.

 

It's. A. Golf. Exhibition.

Yep, the other players have to disagree with him or even give a rip about his opinions before there is "dissention".  

 

He really didn't say all that much other than the week is different and the way it works is counter to his normal routine - duh.