Did a pair of American golfing friends become foes in the aftermath of defeat?
Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, two members of the United States’ 2018 Ryder Cup team, had an altercation that almost came to blows and had to be separated Sunday night at a post-tournament party, Golf Digest’s Joel Beall reported Monday, citing sources and witnesses.
The incident, which took place inside Europe’s team room at Le Golf National a few hours after its resounding seven-point Ryder Cup victory over USA, “shocked and upset” the spouse of a European player due to its “nastiness, which was very threatening,” a source told The Telegraph’s James Corrigan.
The cause of the reported fight is unknown, but one of Beall’s sources claims Johnson’s fianceé, Paulina Gretzky, was a “central figure,” and that Koepka’s girlfriend, Jena Sims, also was involved. Gretzky later deleted every picture of Koepka from her Instagram account, according to Corrigan.
Koepka’s agent, Blake Smith, denies the altercation took place.
“From what I gather I believe someone made this story up,” Smith said. “Nothing to report on our end.”
Johnson’s agent didn’t respond to Beall’s request for comment as of Tuesday afternoon.
Johnson and Koepka are thought to be close friends, having played together during Ryder Cup foursomes and worked out at the same Florida gym.
At least, that was the case before USA crashed and burned at the 2018 Ryder Cup in France.
