Golf has always been a game of politeness, respect, courtesy (and white people). Over the years, golf has tried to become more in touch with the younger generation. The generation that grew up watching Tiger dominate are now on the tour competing alongside him. There are plenty of boisterous personalities in this new generation of golfers. Guys like Rory McIlroy, Bryson Dechambeau, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, and Jon Rahm, just to name a few. Among that group, there is one dude who loves being the guy. No, I am not talking about Smylie Kaufman … I am talking about Brooks Koepka.
Golf needed a guy like Koepka. Tiger was out and there was a huge void in golf. The game was missing a player that played great golf and a great personality.
“At home, I’m definitely not watching golf. I’d rather be watching baseball, basketball, football, whatever it is.”
Brooks
Cult of Personality
While most of the European golfers are pretty solid performers, they lack something in the personality department. For example, Jason Day and Adam Scott play solid golf, but holy hell are they boring. Rory is always fun to watch, but he implodes too often that it’s tough to seriously root for him on Sunday’s anymore (he hasn’t won a major since 2015!). Jon Rahm has won twice recently, but he’s young and we’ve seen some of the young guys flame out.
The Americans are no better — Phil is getting older and is almost ready for the booth, Dustin Johnson has zero personality and continues to choke in big moments, Jordan Speith has become an average golfer, and guys like Tony Finau, Gary Woodland, Fowler and Thomas just seem to be chill, easy-going dudes. Tiger is getting up there in age and isn’t as consistent, so Brooks is the only one left that has all of the boxes checked (though Colin Morikawa is fantastic!).
Brooks Versus…
He is the a**hole golf didn’t know it needed. Even now, with everything going on in the world, Brooks is still a massive quote-machine! Brooks has taken shots at most of the game’s top golfers, whether he knows them or not. Here is what he said before the final round of the PGA Championship, which was a few days ago (Brooks went on to shoot a +4 in the final round and finished T29): “I like my chances. When I’ve been in this position before, I’ve capitalized. I don’t know. He’s (Dustin Johnson) only won one. I’m playing good. I don’t know, we’ll see. A lot of the guys on the leaderboard, I don’t think, have one. I guess DJ has only won one, but I don’t know the other guys that are up there.” LOL. Brooks is notorious for saying something that isn’t exactly true. He later clarified those statements saying that he does in-fact know the players at the top of the leaderboard. I don’t think he should have had to apologize or clarify is statement, but it’s 2020 and anything goes.
Brooks vs Rory McIlroy
Rory vs Brooks has been a topic for many years. Brooks dished out some heat when a reporter asked him about his “rivalry” with Rory McIlory in October of 2019: “I’ve been out here for, what, five years. Rory hasn’t won a major since I’ve been on the PGA Tour. So I just don’t view it as a rivalry,”. Ouch. The truth does hurt sometimes, Rory.
Brooks vs Bryson
Brooks also has a history of messing with Bryson Dechambeau. Bryson is known for his “scientific” approach to golf and over the pandemic, Bryson has beefed up to become “buff Bryson”. Brooks said he “doesn’t need to keep up with anybody” after being questioned about Bryson’s new look and massive drives. Brooks also took some shots at Bryson on how long he took before hitting his ball in 2019: “I just don’t understand how it takes a minute and 20 seconds, a minute and 15 to hit a golf ball. It’s not that hard. Guys are already so slow it’s kind of embarrassing. I just don’t get why you enforce some things and don’t enforce others.”.
“I just don’t understand how it takes a minute and 20 seconds, a minute and 15 to hit a golf ball. It’s not that hard. Guys are already so slow it’s kind of embarrassing. I just don’t get why you enforce some things and don’t enforce others.”
Brooks Koepka
Brooks vs Slow Play
Don’t we all hate slow play?! Brooks hates slow play as well, and I personally love that he spoke up. I hate watching slow golfers and I especially hate playing with and behind slow golfers. in 2019, Brooks was paired with JB Holmes, a NOTORIOUSLY slow golfer. It’s safe to say Brooks wanted to strangle JB by hole 3. “What I don’t understand is when it’s your turn to hit, your glove is not on, then you start thinking about it, that’s where the problem lies,” Koepka told reporters. “It’s not that (Holmes) takes that long. He doesn’t do anything until his turn. That’s the frustrating part. But he’s not the only one that does it out here.”
Majors
One thing Brooks does better than any other golfer in today’s game is showing up for Majors. Brooks has seven PGA Tour wins and four of those are Majors. He won the US Open in back-to-back years in 2017 & 2018 and finished 3rd in 2019, and won the PGA Championship in 2018 & 2019. Brooks has just been crushing it in Majors. In 2019, he had top-5 finished for all four majors. That is some Tiger Woods sh*t right there! Here are Brooks’ finishes in Majors over the last 3 years:
| Tournament | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters | T11 | – | T2 | |
| US Open | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| The Open | T6 | T39 | T4 | PPD |
| PGA Championship | T13 | 1 | 1 | T29 |
PPD=No Tournament due to Covid
Final Thoughts
One thing I like about Brooks is when he feels he crossed a line or offended anyone, he will apologize and own what he said. After the PGA Championship, Brooks has this to say about his comments before the final round, “I’ve been portrayed as the villain, right? I’m different, super competitive, fiery. My idea of talking trash is a whole lot different than other people’s. I get the whole villain thing and I can definitely play into it, and I have as you’ve seen with the whole Brandel [Chamblee] thing. Not being afraid to chirp up.
But if you’re going to do that then you’ve got to back it up and last week I didn’t back it up. I’m OK with the repercussions of that. I’ve got thick skin. I can handle it.” Brooks gets it. If you are going to talk shiI, you gotta back it up. That’s why Tiger is the goat.
In order to do this, you have to win. Brooks does that. He may not be the most likable guy on tour. He’s not my favorite, but there is a reason I am writing about Brooks — he’s a gamer. If Brooks bothers you, good. Golf needs this. We all need a little Brooks in our lives because, as if we needed any more reminders, Tiger can’t play forever.
Tiger’s literal and metaphorical absence from the tour for that 5ish year span really sank golf’s ratings and ‘watchability’. Brooks is def a fan favorite (or ‘least favorite’ – what’s it matter, either way he draws viewers) And he along with a few other golfers on the tour have helped increase golf’s likability across generations. Tiger, however, and especially after his Tour championship win in 2018, was the single biggest reason, at least in my opinion, why golf suddenly shot back up in viewership! He is the GOAT. Brooks is fun to watch, but nothing is better than watching Tiger when he’s leading the leader board going into a Sunday.