ROME — As there tends to be at these mega sporting events, there was an awkward press-conference moment Thursday, the eve of the Ryder Cup’s opening matches on Friday.
A British reporter questioned European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald about being married to an American, insinuating that there may be some sort of conflict in their household as to whom she’d be rooting for in the matches.
“The phrase ‘sleeping with the enemy’ comes to mind,’’ the reporter began, adding, “I wonder how tricky it is going to be this week for you? I wonder if you talk in your sleep?’’
Donald, from England, didn’t see the humor in the question.
“Not tricky at all,’’ he said. “My wife’s parents were born in Greece. She has a lot of strong European roots, and [is] my number one fan. There’s quite a few guys on our team that have U.S. wives. It’s really not a problem. They are 100 percent behind us.’’
The reported then followed with: “She wants Europe to win?’’
“Of course,’’ Donald said.
Awkward.
Donald’s wife, Diane Antonopoulos, is a Chicago native who he met when he attended Northwestern University.
It should, too, be noted that the wives of the top two players on the European team, Jon Rahm (Kelley Cahill) and Rory McIlroy (Erica Stoll), are both from America.
Brooks Koepka was asked the question and it took him several moments to answer it.
“If the Ryder Cup came down to one match on the course to decide it — I suspect if you ask all 24 guys here if they want the ball they’d say yes. How many of them do you think really mean it?’’
Koepka seemed to be going over every player in his mind before he finally delivered his answer.
“Very few,’’ he said. “False confidence, I think. Yeah, guys should believe in themselves, but everybody else has got to be thinking that they don’t. That’s why I think that way. You’ve got to think you’re the best player on the golf course, best player on the team, best player in that current time, and if you don’t, then there’s something wrong with you.
“You’ve always got to believe you’re the best and want to be the best and have that drive, and that’s what’s going to put you over the edge. I think a lot of guys have it, but I don’t know how many guys would want an 8-footer with this on the line.’’
Koepka, incidentally, was one of the four players who was set to sit out the morning foursome matches Friday.
Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 ranked player in the world, was asked the same question and disagreed with Koepka.
“I think in order to get this far in your career, you have to have that kind of self-belief, so I would imagine all of them are telling the truth,’’ Scheffler said. “It just depends on who can perform in that situation when it really comes down to it. Everybody here has won at some level of the game, and whether you’re at the Ryder Cup or trying to win a junior tournament when you’re a kid, it all feels huge. So yeah, I think they’re telling the truth.’’
Koepka is the only player among the 24 playing this week who plays on the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour.
“I didn’t notice,’’ he deadpanned the other day.
When he was asked if he’s surprised there aren’t more LIV players playing this week, Koepka said, “I don’t make the decisions. Everybody had an opportunity to get there. I mean, I had the same opportunity as every other LIV player, and I’m here. Play better. That’s always the answer.’’
Thomas Bjorn, who was the 2018 Ryder Cup captain for the European team that defeated the U.S. the last time it was played in Europe, famously promised his players he would get a tattoo on his derriere if they won the cup.
Bjorn followed through on the promise.
When Donald, the current European captain, was asked if he’d follow suit, he said, “No guarantees on the tattoo. I certainly don’t have any on my body, just to let you in. But I’m sure we can find a suitable way to celebrate if it goes our way on Sunday.’’