Bryson DeChambeau’s caddie, Greg Bodine, had a verbal confrontation with European players Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood. The ugly scene broke out during a heated four-ball contest Friday in the Ryder Cup. The scary situation played out on the 16th green at Bethpage Black. Bodine was busy concentrating on reading DeChambeau’s long putt when Rose waved him away.
Tension mounted further when Bodine came back to reread the putt. His shooting location on the 15th hole was just off the line of play. This led to more back-and-forths between caddies and players, which carried all the way up the hill to the 16th tee box. DeChambeau and his partner Scottie Scheffler faced a challenging matchup against the European duo of Rose and Fleetwood, ultimately losing the match 3-and-2.
Despite the match’s loss, Scheffler focused on the bright spots of the day and their play.
“Bryson and I did some good stuff out there,” – Scheffler.
Scheffler reflected on the difficulty of their match, stating, “We were into a tough matchup today. Those guys played great. They made a ton of putts and really tip of a cap to them. They played better than we did.”
As tensions continued to boil over in the aftermath of the confrontation, Rose was quick to clarify that any perceived disrespect was not intended.
“Maybe I didn’t say it as politely as I could have said it in the moment, but by no means was there any disrespect or anything like that.” – Rose.
He further explained his reaction in a light-hearted manner, saying, “I said to the boys, ‘If you want me to say, “Excuse me, please,” then yeah, my bad.’”
Fleetwood tried to play the whole scene down, insisting it was no big deal and that it was just a small part of a big day of golf.
“It’s one moment out of two days of a lot of golf and a lot of great golf.” – Fleetwood.
It’s been a rough Ryder Cup week for DeChambeau. Coupled with Scheffler, he had to endure even further scrutiny when Scheffler made history as the first American golfer to lose a match in all four opening sessions.
The American team has yet to see an opponent lose five matches in one Ryder Cup. This has never occurred, regardless of whether the event occurred within our borders or outside of them. With the championship still underway at Bethpage, DeChambeau’s behavior on and off the course has sparked outrage – and not just from amateur golfers.
After the match ended, Rose said she hoped the dust-up wouldn’t carry over.
“I hope so. I spoke to the boys. It should be [over], in my opinion. There was no intent behind it whatsoever. I admire [Scheffler] more than anybody else out on tour with the way he goes about his business, the way he goes about his life, and obviously just huge respect all around.” – Rose.
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