Ryder Cup 2023: Brooks Koepka flashes the steel that makes him a threat in Rome

The question at Wednesday's Ryder Cup media conference was a good one. "If the Ryder Cup came down to one match on the course to decide it, I suspect if you ask all 24 guys here if they want the ball, they'd say yes. How many of them do you think really mean it?"

Brooks Koepka didn't answer immediately. He paused, the seconds drawing out. Nearly 10 seconds later, he answered, and his first two words are exactly why he's such a valuable part of the U.S. team.

"Very few."

Koepka played his way into consideration for the U.S. team despite competing in just four events — the four majors — recognized by the Ryder Cup. He narrowly missed out on automatic qualification, and when Zach Johnson selected him, there was no surprise, only satisfaction. Koepka is the United States' attack dog, and his further answer to the question shows why.

"False confidence," he said of his fellow players wanting the Cup in their hands, a reminder that while he's a teammate of these players this week, he's a rival of theirs the other 51 of the year ... or, at least, in the four majors that he's allowed to play while still a member of LIV.

"You've got to think you're the best player on the golf course, best player on the team, best player in that current time, and if you don't, then there's something wrong with you," Koepka added. "You've always got to believe you're the best and want to be the best and have that drive, and that's what's going to put you over the edge."

Then he broke down the difference between confidence and desire: "I think a lot of guys have [confidence], but I don't know how many guys would want an 8-footer with [the Ryder Cup] on the line."

One of the Ryder Cup's most dramatic elements is its Sunday singles matchup. After a full week of team-building and bonding, players must go out alone with the Cup on the line, mano a mano. It's the kind of challenge that thrills Koepka.

"Some guys want to play certain people," Koepka said. "I'd love to play Jon [Rahm], Rory [McIlroy], Vik [Hovland]. I'll play anybody."

Koepka has an overall record of 4-3-1 in the two Ryder Cups he has played. In 2021, he went out seventh in singles, a key position given its likely impact on the final outcome. Collin Morikawa clinched the U.S. victory with a half-point just before Koepka defeated Bernd Wiesberger 2&1. Three years earlier, with the U.S. trailing 10-6 in singles, Koepka went out second and halved his match with Paul Casey. It wasn't enough to prevent a European victory.

Koepka has managed to sidestep all the LIV controversy of the past 18 months, largely by keeping to himself. While his LIV colleagues have talked trash, filed lawsuits and sported logos, he has remained silent, focused only on his golf. And what once looked like a quick cash grab for him has turned into a career resurgence.

Asked whether his fellow LIV players got a fair shake in the selection process, Koepka noted that he managed to get onto the team. Then he closed with another one of those Instagram-worthy motivational slogans, simple yet effective:

"Play better. That's always the answer."

Koepka and the rest of the American team tee off at 1:30 a.m. ET Friday at Marco Simone Golf Club, where they'll attempt to win a Ryder Cup on European soil for the first time in 30 years.