ROME — Jon Rahm handled it perfectly Saturday.

Unlike the way Brooks Koepka had Friday.

Koepka, the U.S. star, lashed out at Rahm after he and partner Scottie Scheffler halved their Ryder Cup four-ball match to Rahm and Nicolai Hojgaard.

Rahm had a magical finish to the match, going eagle, par, eagle to finish and Koepka was frustrated.

“I mean, I want to hit a board and pout just like Jon Rahm did,” Koepka told a TV reporter in a greenside interview after the match. “But, you know, it is what it is. Act like a child. But we’re adults. We move on.’’

There was no follow-up question from the TV reporter, and Koepka hasn’t been made available to reporters since, so there was no context to what he said about Rahm.

Until Rahm spoke after his Saturday morning foursomes match and added plenty of context in the way he does so well — being open, honest and refusing to be sucked into a gutter match with Koepka.

Does Rahm, the 28-year-old Spaniard who’s ranked No. 2 in the world, sometimes run hot in the golf course? He absolutely does. But he’s almost always been accountable for it, often chiding himself for his temper.

“I’m not going to stand here and say I’m a perfect example on what to do on a golf course,’’ Rahm said Saturday in reference to the Koepka comments. “I play and compete the way I think I need to play and compete. Yeah, [Koepka] mentioned it. I’m not happy I left a 10-footer short on 17 to possibly tie the hole, and going up to the [18th] tee, I let off some frustration hitting the board sideways.

“If Brooks thinks that’s childish, it is what it is. He’s entitled to think what he thinks. I’m very comfortable with who I am and what I do. I’ve done much worse on a golf course [than] that. That doesn’t even register to a low level of ‘Jon anger’ on the golf course. I needed to … at that moment … let off some steam and play the hole I wanted to do.

“And clearly it worked out. [I] played two great shots and got a little lucky on the putt [on 18 for eagle to secure the half point]. I needed to do what I needed to do to perform under those circumstances. Is it right or wrong, childish or not? I don’t know, but that’s what I needed at the moment.’’

This is the beauty of Rahm, who’s one of the treasures in the game — not just for his brilliance on the golf course, but for who he is off it, which is one of the most well-spoken bright lights in the sport.

When he was recruited to Arizona State from Spain by Phil Mickelson’s brother, Tim, Rahm didn’t speak English. Now, he speaks it more fluently and with better clarity and perspective than most of us who’ve lived in America all our lives.

For that, I’ve always had a deep respect for Rahm.

And for times like Saturday, when Rahm, who’s been a workhorse for Team Europe with a 2-0-1 record, ended the Sunday singles and could have taken an easy way out by either played dumb, claiming he hadn’t heard Koepka’s comments, or lashing out at Koepka in retaliation.

Rahm took neither tack, and for that he should be applauded — even if Koepka’s comments emitted the distinct stench of sour grapes.

Rahm said he’s “never had an issue with Brooks,’’ adding, “I don’t know now, but up until yesterday afternoon, I thought we had a pretty good relationship. There’s always been that mutual respect.’’

Rahm then even threw Koepka a lifeline, speculating that perhaps his frustration with the way the match finished had more to do with his comments.

“Listen, had I seen somebody make the putt on 18 the way I did, I would not have been the happiest of people either,’’ Rahm said, referring to his speedy eagle putt that hit the hole with such pace it bounced up and dropped into the cup like in a cartoon. “Clearly, there was a little bit of luck involved with that. I think [Koepka’s frustration] could be attributed to it being a long day and seeing what happened on the last three holes that we did.’’

Interestingly, Koepka and Scheffler were demolished, 9-and-7, by Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg in their morning foursomes match. 

Rahm was asked if he thinks his teammates, having his back, poured it on.

“Trash talking, it’s part of sports,’’ Rahm said. “If anything, golf could be a hard one really to back it up because you’re not really reacting on what the person in front of you is doing like other sports. It’s truly you against yourself out there. You can’t really influence what the other person is doing directly. What happened today, I can’t say is completely directly related to something like that.’’