Brooks Koepka Gets Brutally Honest, Says 'Very Few' Players Would Actually Want To Play In Ryder Cup-Deciding Match

Death, taxes and Brooks Koepka not giving a damn.

On Wednesday, two days prior to the start of the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, the topic of the desire from certain players wanting to be in the Cup-deciding match come Sunday came up as it does every time the biennial event rolls around.

READ: ZACH JOHNSON IGNORES THE FAKE DRAMA, PICKS BROOKS KOEPKA FOR U.S. RYDER CUP TEAM

Every one of the 24 players that make up the U.S. and European teams would say that they'd love to be given the opportunity to play in the deciding match. Saying you'd welcome the opportunity and actually believing it are two different things, which is the point Koepka made during his presser.

"Very few," Koepka said after a lengthy pause after being asked how many players really do want the ball in their hand.

"I think other than the Ryder Cup, the most pressure you can feel is in a major. Yes, 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 have to be thinking that you're the best player on the golf course, best player on the team, best player in that current time. If you don't, then there's something wrong with you.

"I think a lot of guys have it," Koepka continued, "but I don't know how many want an eight-footer with on the line."

Brooks Koepka And The American Side Oozing Confidence In Rome

Koepka's comments will be labeled as arrogant by those who already believe he's an overly-cocky guy, but at the end of the day, he's just being honest. Every player at the Ryder Cup has outrageous levels of self-belief as these are some of the top players on Earth, but that self-belief has varying levels.

One thing is for certain following Koepka's remarks, and that is that this is a confident U.S. team.

Ryder Cup rookie Wyndham Clark caught a bit of heat for saying that he thinks he's "better" than Rory McIlroy, but when confronted by reporters for his 'controversial' comments the American doubled down with his self-belief message.

“I mean, I think I’m better than every player,” Clark said. “How could you not think that? If I don’t think that, then what am I doing out here? It had nothing to do with me, any sort of arrogance or cockiness, it was more that I just try to have self-belief in myself.”

If this year's Ryder Cup does come down to the wire - which it hasn't in many years - Clark and Koepka certainly feel like two guys who will raise their hand for the anchor singles match Sunday.

Follow Mark Harris on X @ItIsMarkHarris

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.