If you had to choose a word to describe four-time major champion Brooks Koepka, maybe you’d choose confident, cocky or intimidating — all descriptors that more than fit the bill. It’s highly unlikely that you’d choose softie. Unless, of course, your name is Bryson DeChambeau. But context is everything.
DeChambeau and Koepka have been embroiled in a feud for a long time now, one that will be on full display as the two PGA Tour stars face off against each other in Capital One’s The Match on Friday, Nov. 26, the day after Thanksgiving.
As the match approaches, the frequent trash talk between the two has escalated, most visibly during an interview with Phil Mickelson, which you can watch on Bleacher Report’s YouTube page.
Mickelson, who will be in the TV booth for the Bryson vs. Brooks match, didn’t need to do too much prompting to get DeChambeau to let everyone know how he really feels about his rival.
But it was when Mickelson asked Bryson what lessons he learned about Koepka during their lengthy public rivalry that he dropped the s-bomb, if you will.
“I personally learned that he’s a bit more of a softie than I thought,” DeChambeau told Mickelson. “He played this hardball first off, but as I kept pushing back there was definitely some unique responses I got out of him, ones that I didn’t really expect. I thought it would be a little harder.”
Then DeChambeau got into specifics, starting with the viral moment when Bryson left Koepka bristling by unintentionally videobombing him during a post-round interview (before intentionally videobombing Koepka during a U.S. Open interview).
“Walking with spikes behind him he turned around and rolled his eyes, I mean I was surprised at that. I’m like, ‘Man that shouldn’t have bothered him one bit,'” Bryson explained to Phil. “But, you know, that did obviously. He said I may have said something, I don’t know.”
But that wasn’t the only beef Bryson was prepared to unload on camera. He also brought up the “Brooksy” chants that have haunted him at Tour events, putting the blame squarely on Koepka’s shoulders.
“And then him going out and trying to incite crowds and not having him man up and talk to me about it. Like, you know, just kind of soft-balling me, I guess you could say,” DeChambeau said. “He’s trying to go through and use social media as a platform to mess with, and, no, we’re going to settle it on the golf course.”
So the scene is certainly set, but you’ll have to tune in on Friday to see how it all plays out. Check out the full interview below, and find out how to watch the Bryson vs. Brooks match here.
