Brooks Koepka Is Back: Picking Fights And Going Blond

The former world No. 1 returns to the WM Phoenix Open, the site of his last victory on the PGA Tour.

You know what they say, “One good feud deserves another.”

Actually, we don’t know for sure they say that or, for that matter, who “they” are. But it sounds like something they would say, if in fact they were saying anything. And the saying certainly applies where Brooks Koepka is concerned.

You may recall Koepka had a good feud going with Bryson DeChambeau. The spat included lots of juicy videos, testy tweets and nasty innuendoes, and carried on for the better part of two years. But then the two became teammates on the U.S Ryder Cup team last October. They broke bread together, won the Cup together, hugged it out and all that crap.

Even Richard Dawson would have a hard time selling that as feud worthy. It’s a shame, really. What with DeChambeau rumored to have hurt himself playing ping-pong, the “Brooksie” bunch would be having a field day. Still, you know what they say, and see above if you don’t.

Since Brooks Koepka's win a year ago, he has dropped from 12th to 20th in the Official World Golf Ranking.  / USA Today Sports | Orlando Ramirez

To that end, Koepka has been busy in recent days, stoking the feud fires by taking a dig at Phil Mickelson. “Phil the Pill” made headlines over the weekend, calling the PGA Tour “greedy” for the way it handles rights issues, etc. Koepka weighed in by suggesting that “greedy” was a curious choice of words for Mickelson.

Shots fired.

Given last year’s PGA Championship winner also says he is last year’s Player Impact Program (PIP) winner — purportedly worth $8 million — it’s a savvy move on Koepka’s part. Nothing drives fan and sponsor engagement like picking a fight with the guy who reportedly won last year’s bonus pool for driving fan and sponsor engagement. NASCAR calls it drafting.

Whether Mickelson returns fire, whether a beef is truly born remains to be seen. But for feud fans, it’s a promising development.

Koepka’s been busy in other ways, as well. He borrowed a page from Pete Davidson’s playbook and showed up for the Farmers Insurance last month as a blond. Given Koepka’s low-key demeanor and somewhat serious persona, the new look was rather shocking. The first-tee starter at Torrey Pines was caught off guard, introducing the four-time major championship winner as “Bruce Koepka."

He should have gone with “Slim Shady.”

Lest we forget, Tiger Woods flipped the same color switch while relaxing in the Bahamas back in 2001, and that was before there was money in driving engagement. Bottom line, you know what they say, “If it’s good enough for Tiger, it’s good enough for Bruce!” 

Besides, the look won’t last. “Probably won’t last until the wedding,” said Koepka, who plans to marry fiancé Jena Sims in June. “Hopefully it’s out by then. If it was still in there, I think Jena would kill me.”

Wait a minute — another feud?

And peroxide isn’t all Koepka’s promoting. More recently, he released “The People’s Collection” clothing line, in honor of this week’s WM Phoenix Open. The collection includes a baseball style jersey called the “Team Brooks Golf Jersey,” which features a “BK” logo on the front, with “Koepka” and “4” on the back. A “Bruce Cupcake Rope Hat” also is in the collection, featuring a cupcake logo on the front and “Team Brooks” on the back.

Proceeds from the sales go to Koepka’s charitable foundation that helps children facing challenges.

All in all, it’s good stuff. With the feuds, the hair, the clothing, Koepka certainly is staying busy. At the same time, Mahatma Ghandi had an interesting thing to say about these kinds of pursuits and the attention they bring. That is, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

Koepka has experienced all of it in his golf career. But as they prepare to manage the wasted and play golf at the Phoenix Open this week, it has been a while since he has experienced the last part.

As a blonde, he didn’t have more fun at Torrey Pines, he shot rounds of 70-74 and missed the cut. He has missed the cut or withdrawn in four of his last eight PGA Tour starts, while a tie for ninth in the limited field Hero Challenge is his only top 10 since last year's British Open. He has fallen to No. 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking, which represents his worst OWGR position since he was No. 22 in June 2017.

The first man to win consecutive titles in both the U.S. Open (2017-18) and PGA Championship (2018-19) has now gone 29 months without winning another major.

Panic time? Of course not. The greatest in the history of the game have gone longer stretches between winning majors. The most revered in the business have had periods of time when things didn’t fall their way. Over the past two seasons, Koepka has had a myriad of injury issues, from knees to wrist. He has made changes in his equipment and, as documented, in his hairstyle.

But this week, he returns to the scene of his last win. If we are to believe Mahatma Ghandi, he is due. It is now slightly more than two years since Koepka held the No. 1 spot in the world rankings. And while the feuds, the fashion and the clever quips are all well and good, Koepka is supposed to be about much more than that.

He’s supposed to be one of the dominant genes in the game, like he was when he eagled No. 17 on Sunday and came from five shots back to win in Phoenix last year. The galleries will be bulging this time, more raucous than ever. The field will include No. 1-ranked Jon Rahm and 15 of the top 20, competing for attention with the Super Bowl.

This is the kind of event that brings out the best in performance, an event Koepka has won twice in the past, an event that could get him going. “I don’t know, it’s what I live for,” he said of the atmosphere. “I live for those moments where you got to close, you got to hit some quality shots, quality putts. I don’t know, I just like showing off, I guess.”

And with that in mind, you know what they say, “When the going gets tough, the showoffs get going.”

At least, we’re pretty sure they say that, whoever they are.