Time heals all wounds.
A few years ago, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka dominated pro golf with their highly publicized feud. Now, however, things have changed.
Next week, DeChambeau and Koepka, who both play on the LIV Golf circuit, will compete against PGA Tour stars Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler in The Crypto.com Showdown (6 p.m. ET, TNT). And during a conference call Tuesday promoting the event, DeChambeau and Koepka expressed their admiration for each other—something very few people would have expected to hear in 2021.
“We had our spats,” DeChambeau said. “But we realized when we both went to LIV we had quite a few things in common. Kind of like stepbrothers in a sense. And we’ve developed a pretty solid relationship and have good respect for each other now.”
Added Koepka: “Going to LIV, honestly, I think that was a big moment, even just for us, right? We were forced—well, I don’t want to say forced, but we were communicating a lot more, our conversation became a lot more open. From there, I’m the first person to admit I can be a bit stubborn.”
“Oh really?” DeChambeau interjected.
“Yeah, no kidding,” Koepka said. “Look, we all get older, we all mature a little bit, and then you realize, hey, Bryson’s a good dude. I think he's severely misunderstood and I think the world is actually starting to really see who Bryson DeChambeau is, which is cool. I’m the first person to admit it, I was wrong with what my original thoughts were.”
Tension between the two began in January 2019 when Koepka was critical of DeChambeau’s slow play at the Dubai Desert Classic. They appeared to come to a truce at that year’s Northern Trust, but continued to take a few more shots at each other in 2020.
Then, a video of Koepka rolling his eyes to the sound of DeChambeau's spikes went viral at the 2021 PGA Championship and the two exchanged barbs throughout the summer of 2021 with the feud peaking.
The rift started to mend (it seemed) at the 2021 Ryder Cup, as they hugged after Team USA claimed the victory. They later cashed in on the quarrel, going head-to-head in an edition of “The Match.”
Both jumped from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf in 2022 and had a career resurgence. Koepka won his fifth major at the 2023 PGA and DeChambeau won his second U.S. Open earlier this year.
In 2023, Koepka said in a Q&A on Instagram that the beef was “squashed.”
More of their newfound bromance may be on display going forward as DeChambeau said he asked Koepka to be on his popular YouTube series, Break 50.
“I'll make that determination if we win [The Showdown],” Koepka said.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Brooks Koepka Says He Was ‘Wrong’ About Bryson DeChambeau.
