Brooks: "I have an athlete’s mentality, a true athlete, and if that rubs people the wrong way, tough."

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The world No. 1 returns to action this week in Las Vegas, and Brooks Koepka is profiled by Golfweek’s Steve DiMeglio.

He’s still brutally honest, though I’m not entirely clear what being a true athlete means…

“I’m not going to be someone else just to be more popular,” Koepka said. “I’m not your typical golfer, definitely not a golf nerd. I have an athlete’s mentality, a true athlete, and if that rubs people the wrong way, tough.

“I’m just going to say what I feel, I’m going to be honest and I’m not going to hold back. That’s who I am.”

Cameron Champ Returns To Scene Of His Breakthrough Win Humbled, Healthy Again

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Cameron Champ

Cameron Champ

A year ago the longest driver in professional won the Sanderson Farms and returns this week having struggled most of the time since due to back issues and a balky short game.

GolfDigest.com’s Brian Wacker profiles Cameron Champ, who has plenty of interesting things to say about his experience since being the breakout player of fall 2018.

Rarely is the road so smooth for seasoned players used to navigating it, never mind a rookie suddenly thrust into the spotlight while still trying to learn new courses each week not to mention the rigors of treating a game like the job it had become. Over his next 19 starts after a T-11 at the limited-field event Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, Champ missed the cut 10 times and withdrew once.

“Expectations,” Champ says when asked as he gets set to defend his title this week in Mississippi what the most difficult thing was for him in his first year. “Whether you realize it or not, they’re always going to be there.

“Once you get to a certain point—and Matt and Collin are going through this now—it’s all new. You’re suddenly playing in featured groups, have a lot of people following you, you’re dealing with crowds and comments. It’s not anything I ever played in.”

17-Year-Old Akshay Bhatia To Test Boundaries Of Pro Golf's Youth Movement

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While he has picked the third weakest PGA Tour field of 2019 with only four world top 50 players and no one inside the top 40, Akshay Bhatia is still moving into bold territory leaping from junior golf to professional play.

The 17-year-old turns up fresh off a Walker Cup appearance to debut in the PGA Tour’s Sanderson Farms. He’s got a new Callaway deal, new woods, maybe a new putter and high expectations for a player jumping from the junior circuit to a PGA Tour event.

“Akshay is one of the most prolific amateurs the golf world has seen in a long time, and we’re thrilled to have him join our Professional TOUR Staff,” said Tim Reed, Senior Vice President of Global Sports Marketing at Callaway Golf, in a press release.

Bhatia has one previous appearance in a Tour event and one Korn Ferry Tour cut made as an amateur, but has long targeted a pro debut in lieu of college golf.

Bhatia generates plenty of speed:

I would agree with Morning Drive’s Damon Hack that too many cautionary tales are getting lost in the rush to push players into cashing checks at a young age.

Club Pro Guy Shows How You Can Improve Your Fairway Bunker Lies, Just Like Matt Kuchar

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Finally, answers to solving the dreaded fairway bunker shot, thanks to Matt Kuchar’s liberal interpretation of the golf’s revised Rules. (Thanks reader Stephen for the head’s up.)

R.I.P. Brian Barnes

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Alistair Tait files an excellent and very personal remembrance of a player he enjoyed covering, Brian Barnes. The English-born Scot, European Tour great, two-time Senior British champion and wild dresser passed away at 74 and is best known for his Ryder Cup career and two wins in 1975 over Jack Nicklaus in one event—in Nicklaus’ prime.

Tait covers the ups and downs of Barnes’ life but there is this gem from the week he will always be remembered for:

Barnes’s famous Nicklaus double was part of an Arnold Palmer set up. U.S. captain Palmer approached Great Britain & Ireland counterpart Bernard Hunt and asked him to name his best player to play Jack Nicklaus in singles. Hunt picked Barnes and the two captains arranged for the pair to play in the final morning singles match. Barnes ran out a 4&2 winner.

The Ryder Cup featured two singles sessions in those days. Barnes was surprised to find himself out against Nicklaus in the final afternoon singles match. He shouldn’t have been. Nicklaus wanted revenge, and had made sure Palmer fixed the draw so he could play the Scotsman again.

Barnes walked onto the first tee and Nicklaus said: “Well done this morning, Barnesy, but there ain’t no way you’re going to beat me this afternoon.”

Nicklaus birdied the first two holes, but Barnes fought back to win 2&1 in what would turn out to be the greatest day of his career.

Nicklaus hasn’t posted anything on social media yet but when he does I’ll include here.

This is a fun Golfing World piece on Barnes from a few years ago:

Brooks Fires Back At His Body Shaming Critics: "They don't have the balls to do it"

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Arnold Palmer surely lashed out at his critics when he wore an extra tight shirt for a Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year spread.

No, we’re in uncharted territory here.

This week’s Team Koepka bulletin board apparently consisted of Tweets and Instagram comments responding to Brooks baring all. Wait until Brooks hears where Matt Kuchar’s mind went. (If you don’t want to know, let’s just say he’s seen some of the leaked Vonn image portfolio.)

From JuliaKate Culpepper’s Golfweek story:

“It’s one of those things where all these people that talk crap and whatever on social media, they don’t have the balls to do it, and they wouldn’t look that good,” 

No argument there! Was anyone arguing it? Anyway…

“It was something I enjoyed,” Koepka said of the shoot. “I was looking forward to it for months. It’s something I definitely don’t regret doing. It’s been enjoyable to see the pictures over the last couple of months and see, I guess, all the hard work I put into it and see the results.”

On newstands now! Oh wait, they don’t print it anymore. But you can read this Kevin Van Valkenburg story with Brooks and there is this video below where there is no holding back on the nudity front. Well, except the part Kuchar mentioned.

Brooks Koepka Body Issue Pic Surfaces: Countdown Begins On The, Uh, Homages

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The camera adds ten pounds and the ESPN Body Shoot calls for losing thirty. Or so the old saying goes.

Forget that Brooks Koepka posted an image from his long-rumored shoot that prompted him to go on a strange, golf-game affecting diet. Which then set up his first of several manspats with Brandel Chamblee, who called it “reckless self-sabotage.”

More important than manspats on a global stage though: who will be the first to shed thirty pounds for a photo shoot, get waxed and then emerge from a light spritzing to post a spoof version of this? (Which will then inspire Brooks Koepka to win three majors next year.)

Dufner? Mickelson? Caliendo?

Anyway, I’m glad he’s eating cheeseburgers again. And giving good press conference, as he did this year at East Lake after not even getting invited in last year. Eamon Lynch of Golfweek dissects the deadpan jabs delivered in Koepka’s lastest sitdown with the scribblers and content creators.

RIP: The Stevie-Jason Day Experiment

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It lasted longer than anyone could have dreamed—because who would drink up this pairing?—but Steve Williams has paced off his last yardage for Jason Day. The duo started working together at the 2019 U.S. Open and wrapped up things after last week’s Northern Trust.

Evin Priest on the merciful, inevitable end to this experiment.

"It was a disconnect of old school and new school," said Day.

Meanwhile in Europe, Matt Wallace has canned the guy who berated, then said was vital to his success after public outcry, says The Forecaddie.

"Why isn't the medicine working?"

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Thanks to reader BB for passing along Paul Johnson’s Queensland Times report on Briony Lyle’s emotional interview on the one-year anniversary of Jarrod’s passing from acute myeloid leukemia.

In case you were thinking you had it rough…

Perhaps the hardest part of the story was hearing Briony recount how their daughters Lusi and Jemma were by his side until his death. 

"We made the decision to start palliative care and drove home early that morning and had to wait till Lusi woke up and I had to say to her that the medicine is not working and that daddy is going to die," Briony Lyle told Bickmore. 

"It was immediate sadness for her, which I had never seen before. 

"She walked into his hospital room which she had been into so many times before and just walked over and held his hand. 

"In the corner of his room there is a little whiteboard and there is a section that said do you have any questions for the doctor? And she wrote 'why isn't the medicine working'?" 

So far Amazon is just offering this edition of the forthcoming book that will help support the family. If I get a link with more than two copies I’ll pass along here or Twitter.

Leadbetter Calls Out "Unbelievable Ignorance" Of Lydia Ko's Parents

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The sad decline of former No. 1 Lydia Ko continues with missed cuts in back to back majors (granted, in back to back weeks…).

She’s fired caddies and coaches galore and one of those former’s has been critical. Still, it’s jarring to hear David Leadbetter continue to call out Ko’s parents. Roxanna Scott reports on an interview recently given by Leadbetter.

“I hope she gets it back but restoring confidence is never the easiest thing to do. Her parents have a lot to answer for – a case of unbelievable ignorance,” Leadbetter said in a Radio Sport interview, according to the New Zealand Herald.

Ko responded on her Instagram story with this:



"Brandie played the game the way it was meant to be played."

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It’s been such a joy in recent years for listeners of The Open Radio broadcast also heard on Sirius/XM, in part thanks to Gordon Brand Jr.

The former Ryder Cupper, current senior golfer and broadcaster passed away suddenly at 60.

Alistair Tait remembers the Scot for Golfweek, including this.

Yet while he was one of the most affable and approachable players I dealt with during my career, he didn’t suffer fools gladly. Brandie wasn’t afraid to speak his mind when something was amiss, like the Spanish tournament when he took a popular local pro to task for being, shall we say, a little lax with the rules. Said player was disqualified after Brand reported him, and local galleries booed the Scot for the final two rounds as a result.

“Was it worth it?” I once asked him.

“Absolutely,” he said. “You’ve got to play the game the way it’s meant to be played, otherwise why play?”

Spieth: "There were times that I just went to sleep...knowing that the next day was going to be a struggle on the greens"

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Pretty astounding admission from Jordan Spieth after opening the Wyndham with 23 putts en route to 64.

From Will Gray’s GolfChannel.com story on Spieth’s strongsuit returning.

“That’s a pretty massive turnaround, and I needed it,” Spieth said. “I mean, there were times that I just went to sleep not having any idea what was going on with the putter, knowing that the next day was going to be a struggle on the greens no matter what, just that kind of stuff.”

All of the great putters have had lulls, but that’s still amazing to think someone who was that good on the greens reached those depths. The effect on the rest of the game was seen and probably will be for a while as he regains his groove on the greens.

Check out this astounding round one stat from Sean Martin:

Sergio's Star Power Protecting Him From A Much-Needed Suspension For On Course Antics?

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That’s what Golfweek’s Alistair Tait alleges of the kid-glove treatment for the pouting, golf course vandalizing Spaniard and possible future Ryder Cup captain following his latest pitiful on-course display.

Truth is, he can do almost anything he wants and not get a two-week ban. No way the European or PGA Tours are going to take serious action, especially the European Tour. The Euro circuit won’t want to alienate one of its biggest stars.

If true, that’s an amazing statement about where we are in the game: stars can behave badly before our eyes because they are star.

Then again, in February he vandalized greens mid-tournament and only got disqualified, so after that boondoggle, it’s no small wonder he continues to get a pass from the European Tour and PGA Tour for bad behavior.

Stunner! Sergio Continues To Conduct Himself In Unbecoming Ways

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You may recall from February how European Tour Chief Keith Pelley swept Sergio Garcia’s Saudia Arabia on-course vandalism and tantrums under the rug and felt no suspension was warranted, the bow on a terrible week for the ET.

Since then Mt. Garcia has blown a few more times, though no word on whether any of the five families have taken disciplinary action. Sadly, it may take bodily injury to occur before he’s told to take a break from the game via a suspension. Mercifully though, anyone injured by his tantrums will have ample evidence of negligence by the various tours who have not acted.

The first came at The Open:

And now this from the WGC FedEx St. Jude where most players were humbled by meeting patients at the St. Jude hospital

Tom Watson Bids Farewell To One Of The Very Best Links Careers

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James Corrigan said it would be “like Luciano Pavarotti signing off at La Scala” and Michael Bamberger called his style “primal” in a wonderful send off, but no matter how you look at it, Tom Watson signed off on an epic links career. He is in the same league as the very best links golfers of all time—Old and Young Tom, the Parks, Jones, Thomson, etc)—and enjoyed the added benefit of competing in the Senior Open Championship.

 Bamberger wrote:

This is all a round-about way of saying that this farewell from Watson is significant, because here you have a golfer who played a sort of primal golf in ways nobody else ever did, including everybody.

Watson did not issue a press release announcing his goodbye or anything like that. He just answered a question from Lewis with characteristic candor.

In explaining his decision to call it a day on the two of the most prized senior events, Watson said, “The why is pretty simple, I can’t compete against these guys anymore. I don’t hit the ball far enough, and when you can’t compete, there’s no sense. I’m a realist. I understand how to play the game. And I just don’t have enough tools in the tool box to compete against these guys out here.”

Some nice social posts of the farewell 73 at Royal Lytham and St Annes: