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Brooks Koepka does not appear happy with being left off ESPN’s list of most dominant athletes for 2018
On Tuesday, ESPN The Magazine released their list of the 20 most dominant athletes of 2018. Amongst that list included household names such as Lebron James, Novak Djokovic and Drew Brees, while the American gymnast, Simone Biles, took the top spot on ESPN’s list.
One man who did not appear amongst the roll of honor of sporting royalty, however, was golf’s Brooks Koepka. The 28-year-old captured two major championships in 2018, but that wasn’t enough for him to feature on ESPN’s list, which included the triple crown winning horse, Justify, in 16th place.
Learning of his exclusion, Koepka took to social media and made this post, which suggested that he was not too pleased with his omission.
???????????? pic.twitter.com/hboyNl753P
— Brooks Koepka (@BKoepka) December 11, 2018
The list evaluated athletes against their fellow competitors, and then analysed their performance against the accomplishments of other great athletes within their sport from 1998 to present.
Explaining Simone Biles score of 3.25, the compiler of the list Peter Keating stated “So what does Simone Biles’ dominance score of 3.25 mean? In 2018, she was 3.25 standard deviations better than the typical top-four performer in all-around women’s gymnastics since 1998—rendering her the year’s most dominant pro athlete.”
The LPGA’s Ariya Jutanurgarn was the only golfer to feature on the list, who Keating judged to have been the fourth most dominant athlete of 2018. The Thai player won three times on Tour in 2018, which is the same number of times as Koepka; however, just one of those wins was a major championship title, compared to Koepka’s two major victories this year. Jutanugarn did, though, have a total of 13 top-five finishes in 2018, compared to Koepka’s five, and also won every year-end LPGA award that was possible for her to win.
In the past, Koepka has spoken concerning the lack of respect that he feels that he is given, in particular by the media. The American has previously suggested that certain players get their names written about more than him because they “kiss up”, and this year the current world number one let the press know that he doesn’t forget an insult, stating “Come Sunday, I won’t forget it when everyone wants to talk to me because I just won. I don’t forget things.”
Judging by Koepka’s reaction on social media to ESPN’s list, this will be yet another incident that the 28-year-old is unlikely to forget. The chip that Koepka carries around on his shoulder has fueled him to win three of the last six major championships that he has appeared in, and this latest snub from the media has given him plenty of incentive to once again prove people wrong in 2019.
GolfWRXers, was Koepka’s omission from the list justified, or another show of disrespect towards golf’s current best player?
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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Tommy Fleetwood has been attached to his Odyssey White Hot Pro #3 putter for years now. However, this week at the Wells Fargo Championship, we did spot him testing a new putter that is very different, yet somewhat similar, to his current gamer.
This new putter is a TaylorMade Spider Tour X head but with a brand new neck we haven’t seen on a Spider before. A flow neck is attached to the Spider head and gives the putter about a 1/2 shaft offset. This style neck will usually increase the toe hang of the putter and we can guess it gets the putter close to his White Hot Pro #3.
Another interesting design is that lack of TaylorMade’s True Path alignment on the top of the putter. Instead of the large white center stripe, Tommy’s Spider just has a very short white site line milled into it. As with his Odyssey, Tommy seems to be a fan of soft inserts and this Spider prototype looks to have the TPU Pure Roll insert with 45° grooves for immediate topspin and less hopping and skidding.
The sole is interesting as well in that the rear weights don’t look to be interchangeable and are recessed deep into the ports. This setup could be used to push the CG forward in the putter for a more blade-like feel during the stroke, like TaylorMade did with the Spider X Proto Scottie Scheffler tested out.
Tommy’s putter is finished off with an older Super Stroke Mid Slim 2.0 grip in blue and white. The Mid Slim was designed to fit in between the Ultra Slim 1.0 and the Slim 3.0 that was a popular grip on tour.
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
…The Jailbird craze hasn’t really slowed down in 2024, either. According to Odyssey rep Joe Toulon, there are about 18-20 Jailbird putter users on the PGA TOUR.
Most recently, Akshay Bhatia won the 2024 Valero Texas Open using a broomstick-style Odyssey Jailbird 380 putter and Webb Simpson is switching into a replica of that putter at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.
Now, Fowler, who essentially started the whole Jailbird craze, is making a significant change to his putter setup.
Fowler, who has had a couple weeks off since the 2024 RBC Heritage, started experimenting with a new, custom-orange Jailbird 380 head that’s equipped with a standard 35-inch putter build, rather than his previous 38-inch counter-balanced setup.
According to Fowler, while he still likes the look and forgiveness of his Jailbird putter head, he’s looking to re-incorporate more feel into his hands during the putting stroke.
He told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Championship that the 38-inch counterbalanced setup “served its purpose” by helping him to neutralize his hands during the stroke, but now it’s time to try the standard-length putter with a standard-size SuperStroke Pistol Tour grip to help with his feel and speed control.
Although Fowler was also spotted testing standard-length mallets from L.A.B. Golf and Axis1 on Tuesday, he confirmed that the custom Odyssey Jailbird 380 is the putter he’ll use this week at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.
Head over to PGATour.com for the full article.
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Victor
Dec 14, 2018 at 1:07 pm
Yes because 1. Not kissing up to the media 2. Never forgetting the media snubbed you and 3. Ignoring the media if you win again, is gonna be a sure fire way to get you more “media” attention.
Suck it up, suck up, and get a equipment deal so someone else can help market your “fake” brand, so you get paid more $$$
Ronald E Owens
Dec 14, 2018 at 12:58 pm
Who cares? Get over it! Consider whose list it is and in a list of things that REALLY matter, is this even on it? Didn’t think so.
JustWellsy
Dec 14, 2018 at 11:58 am
Who cares about ESPN anyway? What a terrible company… I’m glad they’re failing
nrgnovator
Dec 14, 2018 at 2:10 pm
Can’t agree more!!! ESPN has become (in general) a bunch of irrelevant, biased leftists who are desperately attempting to regain their respect and viewership that was lost due to their inability to keep their politics out of their sports coverage and commentary!
IMO
Dec 13, 2018 at 10:49 am
Remember golf is a game not a sport!!!! Who gives a hoot about ESPN, CNN, and MSNBC…
Jerry Updike
Dec 13, 2018 at 10:33 am
They put an actual animal in front of him, that’s hilarious.
The list is funny, Cormier isn’t even a top 5 mixed martial artist, let alone a top 3 athlete in the world. Mahomes and Harden must have really good agents.
Steve
Dec 12, 2018 at 11:01 pm
This list is meaningless, particularly for the women in it. In all women’s sports there’s a few dominate players at the top, and the rest just fill out the tournament. They’re also typically a lot better looking.
And why would you have Olympians on this list when…it’s not an Olympic year? Just because they beat up on whoever’s looking to scrape a paycheck by?
Bag a few more major next year BK; let the anger burn within you.
Tony Lynam
Dec 12, 2018 at 9:02 pm
ESPN? That network is still around?
Tommy
Dec 12, 2018 at 8:16 pm
But he doesn’t care…..right. I actually like what I’ve seen of Brooks as a person but you can’t demand respect…doesn’t work that way. Just zip it and keep winning…it’ll come, just like all the money did. Didn’t have to ask for that, did you?
Jack
Dec 12, 2018 at 6:03 pm
Interesting piece that highlights the wide-range of sports with these gifted athletes who have dominated in their respective fields (Thank you, @Gianni for the share). Two things of note:
First, ESPN’s list of most dominant athletes is clearly driven off quantitative metrics and makes no mention to how marketable [like-able] these individuals are. So to the many readers who have commented on Koepka’s personality or lack thereof and how this may have driven an omission from ESPN’s aforementioned list… irrelevant.
Second, has the LPGA missed the mark in terms of creating a buzz around such a talented player in Ariya Jutanugarn? Considering the likes of other women who too have had dominant stretches since ’98 (Sorenstam, Ochoa, Tseng, just to name a few) it seems to me that an organization that has notoriously struggled in growing their following should be able to capitalize on a female who is not only one of the most successful golfers on the LPGA, but rather one of the most dominant athletes in the world.
the dude
Dec 12, 2018 at 6:01 pm
good to see the olympic figure skater made the top 11……wow..
the dude
Dec 12, 2018 at 6:00 pm
He could win the grand slam….and 2 day’s later…”in other news” Not sure what it is…but he is lukewarm…kinda robotic out there. Not a aweful thing, just an awesome golfer that is boring…..
Brad
Dec 12, 2018 at 5:48 pm
Brooks Koepka doesn’t get included in the same breath as other “star” athletes in golf or other sports for two simple reasons – (1) he doesn’t kiss up to the media and (2) he isn’t signed to a big name OEM golf manufacturer.
If he were signed to ANY of the big OEM golf companies, their media departments would be out singing his praises from the rooftops and selling this fantastic, feel-good, “Cool Hand Brooks” persona to the media and golfing public.
Most of the players who people think are “cool” or “charismatic” are seen that way simply because their sponsors have manufactured that perception. There are exceptions, or those players who have such big personalities or are so exceptional that they don’t need anything “manufactured” such as Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, John Daly, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, etc. – but most of the “cool” golfers aren’t really that cool in person. I’ve met quite a lot of them and really, most of them aren’t any more charismatic or cool than the average Joe on the street, and the ones that are often aren’t the ones the public thinks would be cool to hang out with.
Travis
Dec 12, 2018 at 1:59 pm
His whole golf persona has been done many times over. He’s not unique in anything. He’s a great golfer but unmemorable in almost every way. The fact that he doesn’t have a club contract is actually working AGAINST him because he’s not even the face of any brand. So in the eyes of the fans he’s getting no face time.
He has no traits about him that make him memorable or marketable.
Aldo
Dec 12, 2018 at 1:35 pm
Oh Lord gimme a break. Poor baby earning over $5 million this season isn’t enough for simply playing a game well? Still need your ego stroked. I swear pro athletes along with actors/actresses, music artists all for the most part get paid exorbitant amounts of money for their jobs but still want public recognition. Don’t hear any complaint about no awards or list for best brain and heart surgeons or for emergency first responders or how about teachers. SMH
Gun Violent
Dec 12, 2018 at 9:04 pm
You can’t compare artists to sports athletes.
Art is opinion based, sports is achievement based.
It doesn’t matter whether you like a particular song or movie or whatever – it doesn’t mean it’s good, it doesn’t mean everybody has to like it.
In sports, you have to go achieve it. It doesn’t matter what anybody says, if you win, and get results, that’s what counts. And not all athletes are looking for public recognition, they are out there to get results.
That’s where you are wrong, and are confused, when you think your taste in music counts for something – it doesn’t. That movie that won an award? It doesn’t make it a good movie. It’s just somebody’s opinion. Same as food. Not everything will taste good for everybody.
Sports is not the same.
You have shown your lack of education.
Aldo
Dec 13, 2018 at 3:30 pm
Hey Gun Violet thanks for what appears to be your attempt to educate on the differences between objective and subjective. It fell flat as you missed my whole point and it wasn’t comparing peoples tastes in the arts to athletic accomplishments. Obviously artist and athletes have very different jobs but these artists and athletes already get paid unimaginable amounts of money for a job that us mere mortals look at as entertainment, past time, a hobby. And this great compensation for their work is not enough that they still need to hear praises and feel the pats on their back at awards shows or top 10 lists. Now you stated that not all athletes are looking for recognition but results but I think in this case the title of this article begs to differ. Koepka has the results, the money and has reached the pinnacle golf world #1. That alone should speaks volumes but sounds like his ego is still taking a hit for not being included in some ridiculous list.
Stay in school kids.
toyzrx
Dec 12, 2018 at 1:12 pm
The list is for athletes. Golfers don’t count period.
You suck
Dec 12, 2018 at 1:59 pm
Ummm, Jutanurgarn is on the list, so if this is a shot at a golfer you have failed. Now, go back to the t box and hits your 3rd
erlybrd
Dec 13, 2018 at 9:22 pm
Golf is something that athletes do in their off season. I’ve heard of Jutanurgan. Yeh a lot of guys who think golf is a sport watch girls golf I suppose, lol.
KevinS.
Dec 12, 2018 at 12:41 pm
You gotta be kidding me! ESPN providing such a list is akin to asking Nancy Pelosi who was the best U.S. president ever. It’s not the content of the list; it’s the source of the assessments that created the list.
Dave r
Dec 12, 2018 at 12:14 pm
Only one golfer in the top 20 anyway so who cares ! Why would any golfer be upset it’s only the opinion of some sports writer ?
Marc Tebo
Dec 12, 2018 at 11:13 am
He’s not marketable, it’s that simple. If this guy had just 1 inkling of personality people might start taking notice. He’s so BORING…
Mv
Dec 12, 2018 at 11:17 am
You’re assesment is spot on. He’s the most uninteresting man in the world.
A. Commoner
Dec 12, 2018 at 1:29 pm
Look at the so-called idols getting praise today. A ‘crass and crude’ mouth and general behavior is so prized and praised. “Swagger” valued by so many is simply obnoxious oafish acting. Reserved and professional behavior befitting of a champion should be welcomed instead of challenged. On the flip side, we have seen those who habitually gave only scripted and rehearsed tidbits to adoring audiences while keeping their distance from the “unwashed masses” who nonetheless loved them. Life is full of contradictions.
Gun Violent
Dec 12, 2018 at 11:06 am
This is good. It will help him spur on for the new season and will help him rip everybody a new one.
kevin
Dec 12, 2018 at 10:35 am
Koepka finished 2018 5th on the money list, 9th in fed ex standings, and won twice. yes they were majors but this guy was hardly dominant, and definitely not one of the most dominant athletes when looking at all athletes and all sports.
He is quickly becoming incredibly annoying though.
Thomas A
Dec 12, 2018 at 9:51 am
But, but…he doesn’t care, right? Or he does? I couldn’t tell you what his voice sounds like, btw. As if he would have something intelligent to say anyway.
Krooks Boepka
Dec 12, 2018 at 10:03 am
He’s too busy counting his millions and banging his model girlfriend to care, Thomas. Enjoy that high horse though, buddy.. suites you well.
Michael
Dec 12, 2018 at 9:30 am
Maybe if he had something to say, people might want to talk to him…
A. Commoner
Dec 12, 2018 at 5:00 pm
What’s the problem here? He might be Ben Hogan without the acidity.
Dan
Dec 12, 2018 at 9:21 am
I’m surprised they didn’t select Tiger bc it was “the greatest comeback in sports history” (sarcasm).
DarthBlader
Dec 12, 2018 at 9:12 am
It’s golf BK. Life goes on…