Brooks Koepka came close to a hat-trick of US PGA Championship titles at the weekend, as he finished in a share of second place - two behind the winner Phil Mickelson.
Koepka’s efforts came as he continues his rehabilitation from a serious knee injury. However it wasn’t just his knee which seemed to cause him obvious discomfort at Kiawah Island.
Indeed, Koepka’s rivalry with Bryson DeChambeau seemed to flare up after the second round in south Carolina, according to leaked television footage.
Brooks Koepka can not STAND Bryson DeChambeau. All he did was walk behind him and he loses his cool.pic.twitter.com/vpaKX4av8S
— By The Flagstick (@ByTheFlagstick) May 25, 2021
Footage shows the four-time Major winner giving an interview on Friday, after he had posted an effort of 71.
Koepka, speaking to interviewer Todd Lewis, is discussing the difficulty of the greens when the sound of metal spikes clanking on concrete is followed by DeChambeau swaggering past the camera in the background.
“I didn’t putt well but I don’t think any of the guys were going to putt well with this wind. It’s very tough,” Koepka says, before DeChambeau breezes past.
“I don’t know what the other guys have said or,” Koepka carries on. “I just found it difficult to read sometimes. Sometimes. . . I f*****g lost my train of thought, yeah. Hearing that bullshit. F*****g Christ.”
It is unclear what, if anything, DeChambeau said, but there is seemingly no love lost between the pair.
Koepka has criticised the pace of DeChambeau’s play in the past, while DeChambeau has previously taken a dig at his compatriot’s physique.
Both are likely to be firmly in the mix for next month’s US Open, adding some spice to the narrative at Torrey Pines.
