Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau don’t seem to like each other very much, and they seem to be OK with the whole world knowing that at this point.
In addition to being two of the greatest golfers on earth, the long-hitting duo has developed quite the rivalry. And most of their beef comes off the course.
Things reached their boiling point this week. The highlight came out of nowhere Monday night when someone leaked a Golf Channel video that never was supposed to see the light of day. In a post-round interview from the weekend’s PGA Championship, Koepka became visibly agitated at the mere sight of DeChambeau. The latter’s decision to walk through the shot behind Koepka amid the interview made matters worse, and the interview stopped with the intention of starting over.
Typically, the existence of that video would be known only by the parties directly involved. Instead, it was leaked Monday night (and since deleted), setting the golf world on fire.
The duo then turned up the temperature even hotter Wednesday afternoon. Shortly after the announcement that DeChambeau would play in the next iteration of “The Match” this summer alongside teammate Aaron Rodgers, Koepka offered his condolences to the (for now) Green Bay Packers quarterback.
An hour after that, DeChambeau fired back.
This little rivalry has been going for about two years. Previously, the high point might have been Koepka clapping back at DeChambeau after the 2020 U.S. Open winner tweaked Koepka over his appearance in the ESPN the Magazine: Body Issue.
Koepka, a four-time major winner himself, replied with a checkmate.
It’s certainly possible this is all a work, or at the very least, both players leaning into the bit. Your antennae should really go up when you consider the recent reports about the PGA Tour’s Player Impact Program (PIP). The PIP was created to reward players who “drive fan and sponsor engagement,” in the words of Golfweek.
Koepka and DeChambeau certainly are doing that right now.
