Patrick Cantlay forced to deny Ryder Cup beef with Brooks Koepka after slowcoach slur as he turns Rome wisecracker

Patrick Cantlay insists he’s got no beef with Brooks Koepka.

And sidekick Xander Schauffele says his self-confessed grumpy partner has turned Ryder Cup wisecracker in Rome. Cantlay has been slaughtered in recent times for his slow play with Koepka having a pop after the final round of The Masters. But he has no problem in the team room with his critical United States team-mate and said: “Not from my part at all. I think looking back at his comments, it was in general about it being slow. So no, not a big deal at all and I’m his biggest fan this week.”

Cantlay is set to play alongside Shauffele having built a strong on-and-off course bond. He said: “Most people would be grumpy around Xander. He is like Tony Robbins (life coach) out there. He is impressively positive. I think the nice way to say it is I’m a realist.”

But Schauffele responded by revealing: “He actually was just telling a ton of jokes at lunch. None that I can repeat in this room, obviously." Asked if they were rude, he laughed: “Depends on what rude means to you. It’s 2023. There’s not much you can say anymore, is there!”

But Schauffele was serious as he added: “He’s an easy guy to lean on because he’s so good at golf. We just have a really good time, and when we get things going, it sort of feels like we kind of kick into cruise control.

“He’s really measured. He’s super measured, and I appreciate it. We both have a pretty dry sense of humour, so we do mesh when it comes to that stuff.”

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