Even though Rory McIlroy is ranked No. 2 in the world, Brooks Koepka, the top-ranked golfer in the world, says he doesn’t view him as a rival.
Speaking to the AFP, the 29-year-old golfer said he doesn’t view McIlroy as his rival because the Northern Irishman hasn’t won a major in the five years since Koepka joined the PGA Tour.
Both golfers have four major wins on the tour with McIlroy’s last major victory coming at the 2014 PGA Championship and Koepka’s coming at the PGA Championship in May.
Though he didn’t win a major this season, McIlroy, 30, won the FedEx Cup for a second time and was named the PGA Tour player of the year. Tiger Woods is the only golfer besides McIlroy to win the season-long FedEx Cup race more than once.
Despite that, Koepka maintains that the two are not rivals.
“I’m not looking at anybody behind me,” Koepka told AFP. “I’m number one in the world. I’ve got open road in front of me I’m not looking in the rearview mirror, so I don’t see it as a rivalry. You know if the fans do (call it a rivalry), then that’s on them and it could be fun. Look I love Rory he’s a great player and he’s fun to watch, but it’s just hard to believe there’s a rivalry in golf. I just don’t see it.”
In the past, Koepka has made similar comments about Woods.
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