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Bryson DeChambeau thinks 'Tour needs to handle' Brooks Koepka comments, heckling

Ryan Young
Staff writer
·3 min read
40

The feud between Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka is alive and well this week, and DeChambeau wants the PGA Tour to get involved.

DeChambeau was heckled by fans this week at the Memorial Tournament with chants of “Hey Brooksie!” during the first two rounds at Muirfield Village. Koepka wasn’t participating in the event at Jack Nicklaus’ course, but seemed to encourage them by offering free beer on social media.

DeChambeau said Saturday that he thinks the Tour may need to intervene, and that his agent has spoken with the league about Koepka and their ongoing feud. He said, however, that he hasn't seen Koepka's Twitter video.

“I think that’s something that the Tour needs to handle. It’s something I can’t control,” DeChambeau said, via Golf Digest. “I tried to take the high road numerous times, and I think that, from my perspective, I’ll continue to keep doing so and people are going to do what they want to do.”

Bryson DeChambeau of the United States walks off the fifth tee during the third round of The Memorial Tournament
The feud between Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka is alive and well. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

‘Hey Brooksie!’

After fans were reportedly yelling Koepka’s name at the Memorial, he took to Twitter on Friday night with a message to fans — and offered free beer to fans whose time was “cut short” at the event.

Many took that to mean he was encouraging people to keep yelling his name.

Koepka said Saturday, however, that he wasn’t doing anything malicious.

"I'd never condone anyone being a distraction during someone's swing or when they are about to hit," Koepka said, via Golfweek. "As professionals, we do enjoy fans getting engaged at the appropriate times. It's part of sport and competition. Hecklers are always going to be a part of any live performance. We all know that out there. We all get called different names. I've been called DJ many times, even when I was slipping at [the 2019 PGA Championship]. It's part of it. He even said he considers it flattering."

The whole feud appears to have started at the PGA Championship, when a leaked Golf Channel video hit social media with NSFW language — making it clear that Koepka isn’t a fan of DeChambeau.

The two have been going back and forth ever since.

Though DeChambeau — who finished T18 at 1-under at the Memorial Tournament — doesn’t sound too bothered by the fans, he does recognize that this could actually work in his favor.

With the Tour’s new Player Impact Program rewarding players who “move the needle” with a $40 million pot, more people talking about him, good or bad, certainly helps him on that front.

“From an integrity standpoint and an honor of the game standpoint, you know, the game has always been played in a certain way,” he said, via Golf Digest. “I think golf is changing, it's evolving, so there's going to come a time where it is going to be like this, and if I'm the person to take the brunt of it and whatever, you know, great. I'm happy that there's more conversations about me because of the PIP Fund. … It's more about how — and this is what I don't really know about — but I think it's something along the lines of how the tour wants players to act. That's about it.

“But from my perspective, I mean, if he keeps talking about me, that's great for the PIP Fund.”

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