No longer is there silence in the feud between Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.
And what broke it?
A comment on silence.
That came this week, on a video released by Skratch’s “Dan on Golf” show (and you can watch the full video here). Host Dan Rapaport had brought up that DeChambeau said Rory McIlroy hadn’t talked to him while the two were paired together at last year’s Masters.
“He shouldn’t have,” Koepka said in response.
The five-time major winner then had more thoughts.
“Well, I mean, he lives in his own world,” Koepka said. “I mean, I don’t think many people want to talk to him regardless.
“But yeah, I wouldn’t have spoken to Rory, and I don’t think Rory would have spoken to me, and it would have been totally fine.”
Call it a jab. Whether it will be answered is unclear. But there had been a lengthy back-and-forth between the pros. In January of 2020, DeChambeau talked about Koepka’s abs. In July of 2020, DeChambeau tried to get relief from fire ants during a round, and the next day, Koepka jokingly tried to as well. At the 2021 PGA Championship, Koepka was caught rolling his eyes during an interview as DeChambeau walked past him. At the 2021 Memorial, fans shouted “Brooksy” at DeChambeau, and Koepka egged them on with an offer of free beer. But after both players joined LIV Golf in 2022, the comments mostly stopped.
Then came last year’s Masters, where DeChambeau was asked a few questions about conversation with McIlroy, who won the event. (The questions are in italics.)
Did you speak to him in there? How is he doing?
“No idea,” DeChambeau said. “Didn’t talk to me once all day.”
What was the atmosphere like?
“Electric,” DeChambeau said. “I loved it. But he was just like — just being focused, I guess. It’s not me, though.”
Did you try and initiate conversation with Rory at all?
“He wouldn’t talk to me,” DeChambeau said.
As for what McIlroy made of things, he said this a month later at the PGA Championship:
“I don’t know what he was expecting. We’re trying to win the Masters. I’m not going to try to be his best mate out there.
“Look, everyone approaches the game different ways. Yeah, like I was focused on myself and what I needed to do. That’s really all that it was. It wasn’t anything against him or against — it’s just I felt that’s what I needed to do to try to get the best out of myself that day.”
On the Dan on Golf show, Koepka ended his thoughts on the subject by saying “he’s not a big talker.” Maybe he’ll say something at the start of a round. Maybe he’ll say something to a player he doesn’t know well. But that’s about it, he said.
“But then after that,” Koepka said, “it’s like, OK, cool, I’m just going to go do me, see ya. And I don’t feel bad.
