Brooks Koepka dismisses talk of rivalry – 'Rory McIlroy hasn't won a major since I've been on the PGA Tour'

James Corrigan
Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka shake hands  - Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka shake hands - Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

Brooks Koepka has dismissed the hyping of a “rivalry” between him and Rory McIlroy, witheringly pointing out that the Irishman “hasn’t won a major since I’ve been on the PGA Tour”.

While McIlroy, the world No 2, has talked up his challenge of leapfrogging Koepka in the rankings, the American is adamant there is no duel going on for top honours.​

Granted, McIlroy 30, denied Koepka the $15 million (£11.6 million) FedEx jackpot in August, but the latter appears more interested in counting up the recent majors. And although they are on four each, McIlroy has endured five blank years compared to Koepka netting his quartet in the past three seasons.​

“I’ve been out here for, what, five years,” Koepka told AFP. “Rory hasn’t won a major since I’ve been on the PGA Tour. So I just don’t view it as a rivalry. I’m not looking at anybody behind me.​

“I’m No 1 in the world. I’ve got open road in front of me. I’m not looking in the rear-view mirror, so I don’t see it as a rivalry. You know if the fans do, then that’s on them and it could be fun. [But] I just don’t see it.” ​

Koepka could still be smarting from his fellows pros voting McIlroy as PGA Tour player of the year, a decision that McIlroy admitted he found “surprising”. For his part, Koepka put on an air of indifference at the time, but he was obviously unimpressed.​

They both won a hat-trick of titles in the 2019 campaign, yet Koepka’s haul included retaining the US PGA Championship and he also finished second at both the Masters and US Open and fourth at the Open. McIlroy, meanwhile, failed to finish in the top five at any of the season’s majors for only the second time in his career.​

“LeBron James has only won four MVPs [in the National Basketball Association],” Koepka said. “But I’m pretty sure he’s been the best player for more than four years.”​

Koepka, 29, is defending his CJ Cup title in South Korea this week, in a field also featuring England’s Tommy Fleetwood, Danny Willett and Ian Poulter. McIlroy, who has stated it is his ambition to usurp Koepka by year’s end, is returning to play in next week’s Zozo Championship in Japan.