By Brian Wacker
For all of Brooks Koepka’s success—four career majors on his way to becoming the first player to hold back-to-back titles in two majors simultaneously, reaching No. 1 in the world, seven career victories on the PGA Tour, to name a few—he has endured his share of embarrassing moments. They’ve been rare but have spanned the gamut, from shanks to the time he ripped his pants.

On Tuesday, he discussed some of them, among other topics, in an Instagram Live conversation with his longtime caddie Ricky Elliott.

Like the time he cold shanked one during his first Ryder Cup appearance in 2016. After playing partner Brandt Snedeker drove into the left rough on the 12th hole at Hazeltine National during their alternate-shot match on Saturday, Koepka swung and hit the ball off the hosel of his 6-iron, sending it sideways and just short of a pond.

“I’m not gonna walk over there,” Koepka recalled to Elliott. “I’m gonna let Sneds find it.”

In the meantime, Koepka noticed assistant captain Bubba Watson giggling as he listened to his earpiece. When Koepka inquired what was so funny he let him in on the joke: Tiger Woods, also an assistant that year, had said, “Don’t worry, only 15 million people saw you just shank it.” Then he’d told the group they just saw Koepka shank it again…in slow motion.

The good news for Koepka? He and Snedeker saved par and went on to win the match, 3 and 2, over Henrik Stenson and Matthew Fitzpatrick, and a day later the American re-claimed the Ryder Cup.

That wasn’t the last shank of Koepka’s career, though.

The following spring, while playing in the second round of the Honda Classic, Koepka pushed his tee shot well to the right on the 10th hole at PGA National. The ball settled up against a palm tree.

Koepka told Elliott he thought he could still get to the green and asked for the yardage: 175.

“I take this swing and nick the palm tree coming down,” Koepka said. “The ball moved six inches straight sideways.”

A frustrated Koepka slammed his club and let out a few expletives before gathering himself and asking how far he had to the flag. “You’ve still got 175,” Elliott explained.

The next hole, Koepka broke his driver. He went on to miss the cut.

Which brings us to maybe the most embarrassing story of them all. It came in Koepka’s second year on tour, during the third round of the 2015 AT&T Byron Nelson.

Koepka, who had won a few months earlier in Phoenix, rolled into the TPC at Los Colinas that afternoon dressed to kill, rocking white pants that had a trim, jean-style cut to them. The only problem? They were so tight that he couldn’t even get tees in his pocket as he warmed up on the driving range.

You can guess how things went from there.

“The first hole I go to pick the ball out of the cup and just hear this rip,” Koepka recalled. “Uh oh, what was that? I’m trying to figure out what it was but be casual about it so nobody knew.

“The problem was, I remember going in the second hole and it ripped again. Every time I went to grab the ball of out the hole it would tear more. It was brutal.”

At one point, Koepka said he told his caddie to go find his agent, because his agent always wears pants so he’d borrow his.

By the time Koepka got to 18, he said there a “big flap” hanging down from his pants. No matter. He still shot 64 that day, and the rest of his career has worked out just fine.

The post Brooks Koepka doesn’t shy away from recalling some of his more embarrassing golf moments appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
The 2019 Masters was one of the great “what-if” editions of the tournament in recent memory (though aren’t they all?). What if Francesco Molinari, Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau all didn’t rinse their tee shots on No. 12? What if Patrick Cantlay didn’t make back-to-back bogeys at 16 and 17? What if Xander Schauffele made birdie at the 15th? What if Dustin Johnson’s putt dropped at the 18th? We could do this all day.

Apparently, the best “what-if” of all is one we didn’t even know about, and it almost occurred on the par-5 15th on Sunday. There, Koepka had great look at eagle, one that would have gotten him 13 under with three to play had it dropped. If it did, we would have witnessed a content moment for the ages, according to Koepka. Speaking to his coach, Claude Harmon III, on Instagram Live on Wednesday afternoon, Koepka explained his plan, while simultaneously daggering his caddie Ricky Elliott.

“On 15 I convinced Ricky I was going to make the putt,” Koepka said. “You kind of know when it’s going in. He’s such a bad reader of greens anyway, the guy can’t read a putt. I never ask, because he can’t. He’s a great putter, too, that’s the funny part, but we just can’t match speed and line.

“But I remember saying to him ‘I’m going to point at Tiger if I make this thing.’ And still to this day I cannot believe that putt missed. I have no idea how.”

The entire golf world was pretty pleased with the eventual outcome of the 2019 Masters, but everyone would be lying if they said they wouldn’t have enjoyed this moment. The GIFs. My god, the GIFs. We almost wish Koepka hadn’t told this story, thus implanting one of the greatest coulda-shoulda-woulda content moments in all of our brains. By the way, if you go back and look at that eagle putt, we’re not sure how it missed either.

Koepka was in peak Koepka form his entire Q&A with Harmon, which you should absolutely watch while it’s still up on Harmon’s Instagram page if you have the time. If you don’t, we jotted down some of the highlights for your reading pleasure.

On his no drinking challenge
“I did 30 days of no drinking. It did not last 31. I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty hungover today. But I haven’t felt this good in a long time. Knee feels good, body feels good.”

On Brandel Chamblee and whether he’d go out to dinner with him if asked
“Hell no. Yeah, that’s a definite no. Last year at the Open, we had to hop in a golf cart with him, and I was like ‘you want to get out and I’ll sit there?’ He didn’t say anything.”

On rewatching the 2019 Masters on Easter
“I was over at my dad’s, and he’s a massive sports guy, massive golf guy. So obviously, we had to watch Augusta, right? I’m watching my tee shot on 12 go in the water and I think what people don’t realize was, I was two back of Frankie (Francesco Molinari), so I still have to make a move. You’re never aiming for that pin, you’re always aiming for the right side of that bunker. I backed off the shot right before, because when I stepped in I felt the wind puff into or off the left or something, and then it was completely different than it was two seconds before that. And as we back off I remember thinking, ‘Well, all right, maybe it needs to be flighted a little more,’ and I thought I did it. Look, I hit a great shot, I wouldn’t take it back. In the air I was loving it and thinking I was going to make a birdie, this is your chance. And then it didn’t pitch on the green.

“I didn’t complain, I don’t know if there’s video, but I handed the club right back to Rick and I waited a couple of seconds because I didn’t want to let [Ian] Poulter and Webb [Simpson] know how the hole was playing. It’s not mind games, but it kind of is. It takes away a lot of the senses if a guy comes out and says ‘I hit it bad.’ If you don’t say anything at all, now he’s thinking ‘How did the contact sound? How did everything go?’ and now there’s a bit of uncertainty, which is the one thing you don’t want on No. 12 at Augusta. I think I whispered to Rick after Poulter hit that I hit it exactly how I wanted, and then I think there was a few curse words as we walked down toward the water.”

On his first pick of whom to play with if Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker gave him the choice
“Matthew Wolff. Love that kid.”

On Adam Scott
“I have the biggest man crush on Scotty ever. I love Scotty, he was my idol. Genuinely one of the nicest humans I’ve ever been around.”

On Patrick Reed
“His short game is a joke. I don’t think people realise how good of a wedge player he is around the greens. I’ll never forget, we’re playing Charlotte a few years ago. It’s me, Tiger and him, and he had this shot where I thought there was no chance he could get it within 15 feet And he hits it to kick-in, literally. And I’m like ‘oh my god.’ And Tiger even said to me ‘I don’t understand?’ He’s that good.

On his comments about Reed cheating
“That’s been super misconstrued. Just because I said I thought he cheated. But at the same time, that’s the guy I’d love to play Ryder Cup matches with. People are obviously going to give him sh-t, but I could care less. If people got in his face, I’d be right there; he wouldn’t need Kessler [Karain, Reed’s caddie].”

The post Brooks Koepka wanted to point at Tiger after making a putt at the Masters last year (but he missed) appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Dave Shedloski

Ricky Elliott is the hardest-working caddie in golf these days. No one else even comes close.

You’d think that goes with the territory when working for the No. 1 player in the world. And, sure, Elliott, one of the game’s best caddies and a fine golfer in his own right, is a dedicated and earnest worker for four-time major winner Brooks Koepka.

But as the 148th Open Championship nears, Elliott seems to be working for most of professional golf. Elliott is a native of Portrush, Northern Ireland. His parents’ house is about a quarter-mile from Royal Portrush, which is hosting the Open for the first time since 1951.

No one would blame Elliott for declaring, “It’s my island,” as David O’Hara did while portraying the Irish fighter named Stephen in the film, “Braveheart.”

If anyone has a question, needs a place to stay or is looking for a little insight on Royal Portrush, they go looking for Elliott, 42, who grew up playing the famed links course.

“Yeah, it’s been kind of an interesting time,” Elliott said at TPC Twin Cities, where Koepka is competing in the inaugural 3M Open. “Almost nobody has been there, so there are a lot of questions, a lot of guys looking for houses and such, where to eat. Non-stop really.”

He doesn’t mind the added attention. But being the current rock star, if you will, of the caddie fraternity makes things hectic. Case in point, he was talking to one of his caddie peers for a few minutes after Koepka shot an opening four-under 67. He turned around and there was a reporter seeking a few comments. Then Charley Hoffman tapped him on the shoulder. Hoffman is planning to arrive in Portrush next Saturday, so he asked Elliott to set him up with a local caddie for a few days until his regular caddie arrived. Elliott dutifully took Hoffman’s number. He’ll take care of it.

RELATED: John Daly, upset his request to use cart at Open Championship was denied, plans to play Royal Portrush anyway

Elliott, who began as a caddie at Portrush and played in the same junior program with Graeme McDowell, is staying with his parents during championship week in the house where he grew up, meaning his own flat not much farther away is available for guests. Among those occupying his vacant home is instructor Pete Cowen.

“Mum is all worried. She was asking me what do we do about getting them breakfast,” Elliott said with a laugh. “I said, ‘Mum, relax, they can go buy their own cereal.’”

Asked about Elliott’s widening responsibilities these many weeks, Koepka figured that the less he knew the better. “I don’t pay attention,” he said. “Yeah, I guess [he’s busy]. I guess trying to figure out a housing situation, so that’s really about it, a bunch of the caddies. I’m sure he’s got enough on his plate with all of his friends back home.”

Even with all his experience at Portrush, Elliott will have his own scouting chores when he gets back. A setup for the Open Championship will be unlike anything he has seen before. There are two new holes and several new tees. And then there’s the adjustment of thinking for Koepka, the reigning two-time PGA champion.

“I have the local knowledge, which helps, but Brooks hits the ball a little differently than I do,” Elliott said with a grin. “His lines will be a lot different. It will be fun to see how he plays it.”

Elliott’s lowest score at Royal Portrush, where he estimates he has played more than 1,000 rounds in his life, is an eight-under 64. The course will play par 71 for the championship. He figures that’s a good target score for the boss.

His own target score is 50. That’s how many tickets he needs for family and friends who want to attend the championship, which is sold out. “Fortunately, I was a caddie on the United States Ryder Cup team,” he said with a smile. “I’m hitting them all up for their extras. I’m doing a lot of negotiating. I’m going to have a lot of clubs to polish once this is all over.”

The post Portrush roots have made Brooks Koepka’s caddie the go-to guy in advance of Open Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.