Jon Rahm hit back at Brooks Koepka for branding him a child after the humiliated Yank ended up the one taken to school in Rome.

The Spanish superstar’s near hole-in-one at the 17th ensured he and partner Tyrrell Hatton grabbed a morning point from Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay to boost Europe’s Ryder Cup bid at Marco Simone. That came after Rahm’s fabulous Friday when his magical final-green eagle thwarted Koepka and Scottie Scheffler. Afterwards, the American accused his rival of acting like a kid for whacking a board during the round.

But it was Scheffler who was bubbling like a baby after he and Koepka suffered an embarrassing and record-breaking 9&7 defeat by Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg. Once that was done, Rahm gave him another five of the belt as he slammed back at his rival’s petulant words. He said: “I’m very comfortable with who I am and what I do. I’ve done much worse. That doesn’t even register to a low level of Jon anger on the course.

“I play and compete the way I think I need to play and compete. I wasn’t happy I left a 10-footer short on the 17th to possibly tie the hole, and going up to the next tee, I let off some frustration hitting the board sideways.

“I kept walking, never stopped. That was it. If Brooks thinks that’s childish, he’s entitled to think what he thinks.

“I’m very happy with who I am and I needed to do that to let off some steam and play the next hole as I wanted to do. Clearly it worked out. I played two great shots and got a little lucky on the putt, but I needed to do what I needed to do to perform under those circumstances.

“Is it right, wrong, childish or not, I don’t know, but that’s what I needed at the moment. I’m not going to stand here and say I’m a perfect example on what to do on a course, but I play and compete. I’m here to do my job .”

Rahm insisted he’s never previously had an issue with Kopeka and it may just have been frustration talking from his rival. He continued: “Up until yesterday [Friday] afternoon, I thought we had a pretty good relationship.

“We’re both pretty straight-up people that don’t like the BS in between. There’s always been that mutual respect, he’s always been an incredible player and he’s always done amazing things.

“It could be that [frustration]. Listen, had I seen somebody make the putt on 18 the way I did, I would not have been the happiest of people either.

“Clearly there was a little bit of luck involved with that, but it is match play. I think we saw plenty of the opposite when we were at Whistling Straits two years ago.

“It could be attributed to it being a long day and seeing what happened on the last three holes that we did. I really don’t know what else to say about it.”

Rahm’s pals made him instantly aware of the outburst, but the way he finished his Saturday match with a near-ace summed up his ability to blank the bull. He said: “Everybody is on social media, not myself, but I can’t control what my friends do. They do send it to me. I wish they hadn’t, to be honest.

“Maybe it wasn’t the greatest of match play moments, but because of what it meant for me emotionally, somebody yelling ‘Do it for Seve’ and having just lost my grandad, that putt against Tiger [Woods] to get my first Ryder Cup point is always going to be up there.

“It’s probably the biggest overreaction you’ll see to a four-footer in your life, but it’s what I felt like I needed to do at the moment to let it out. It was very emotional, but I think the 17th today is going to come very close.”

Koepka didn’t need to be put back in his box by Rahm. Hovland and Aberg had already done it. It took the Scandinavian gunslingers just 140 minutes to dismiss him and Scheffler and both big-name Americans were bombed from the afternoon session after their deplorable display.

The final chapter summed it up. Hacking back and across the 11th green as Hovland and Aberg stood bemused at the shambolic stuff being produced by a five-time Major winner and the World No.1 Europe’s fans lapped it up and Rahm said: “I think the crowd, obviously, at home does help. But when you’re out there, there are ways to handle the crowd that’s against you.

“I didn’t see anything that was out of the ordinary. Nobody was too personal or anything like that. And there’s plenty of times where they still cheer for good shots.

“There’s still some people that respect and appreciate good golf and clap for him as well. When you’re in that atmosphere, you almost have to take silence as a good thing.

“We seem to have an ability to come together as team-mates very well and feel how close we are. And I think in moments like that when we are there, a player feels the support, whether it’s myself, Tyrrell out there, anybody. You feel the support of the 12 plus the vice captains.

“Maybe that’s why you see some of the things that have happened so far and the reactions that come with it.”