When is Brooks Koepka going to get the respect he deserves?

Whether you like it or not, Brooks Koepka is the face of golf. Not Tiger, not Rory, not Spieth, and not DJ, it is Koepka who rises to the top in the games biggest moments, and he consistently gets disrespected, by not getting the recognition his game more than deserves.

For the second time in a few months, Brooks Koepka is peeved because the media or the odds makers have not gave him enough credit. This time it is because one of Fox’s three promotional advertisements for the U.S. Open did not feature the back-to-back champion.

Last time he played in a major he dominated, and guys that had not even won a major, like Justin Thomas had better odds than him to win in Vegas before the tournament.

However his doubters have only added fuel to his fire, and have caused the chip on his shoulder to be the key to his success. He has won four out of the last eight majors, and that is something that puts him in rare legendary company.

More from Pro Golf Now

When asked if he does play with a chip on his shoulder and where it comes from, at a press conference at the U.S. Open this week, Brooks Koepka responded by saying,

"“I mean why wouldn’t you? Sometimes you got to find something to give you extra motivation. Sometimes it’s blatantly obvious. I think a little bit came from me putting it on there, but then a lot of it I think comes from certain things. I mean you look back, there is a commercial ran now where I’m not even in it, and Fox put it up for the preview of the U.S. Open.”"

He obviously pays attention to what fans and the media are saying about him, but he did not even seek this information out, it was sent to him by his fans on Twitter.

"“I actually didn’t see it for a long time. A bunch of people on Twitter I think tagged me in it, in the promo,” he said. “And I guess they were amazed that I wasn’t in it. I just clicked on the link and saw it and watched it. Just kind of shocked. They’ve had over a year to kind of put it out. So I don’t know. Somebody probably got fired over it — or should,” he said with a laugh."

Some one should have been canned, for leaving off the back-to-back champ off any of this year’s advertisements. But why is Koepka’s performance even underrated in the first place?

Maybe it is because he did not break into the game as a young phenom, like Tiger, Rory, or Spieth? Maybe it is because of his somewhat robotic personality? Or maybe it is because he looks more like a middle linebacker than he does a golfer?

Whatever it may be, it is laughable that Brooks Koepka is not at the top of every golf fan or analysts’ list to win any major he lines up to play. In the three majors he has played in this season, he has not finished lower than second place, and it will not be surprising to see him in contention this weekend.

If he had not made the mistake of hitting it in the water on Sunday at the Masters on the 12th hole, then he might be looking to make history as the first player to ever win all 4 majors in a calendar year.

Instead he will have to settle on making history at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in another way. If he pulls off yet another major victory, he will become the first player since Peter Thomson in the 1950’s to win three majors in a row, and the first since it turned to stroke play to win three U.S. Opens in a row. If he indeed does do that, it would be easy to call him one of the greatest golfers of all-time and the best of his generation.

Next. Brooks Koepka’s Chase toward Immortality and the All-Time Greats. dark

It is pretty clear now who Brooks Koepka is, and that he is not going to change or ditch the chip on his shoulder, but why would he? If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, and if he continues to have this major success, then he should try to continue to find extra motivation like this before every tournament.

Home/Golf News