19th Hole
Brooks Koepka says Patrick Reed cheated at the Hero
On Monday, while speaking on SiriusXM during a PGA Championship media tour, Brooks Koepka claimed that Patrick Reed cheated at the Hero when he was adjudged to have improved his lie in the bunker by moving sand from behind his ball.
The four-time major champion was typically in no mood to mince his words when asked by host Sway Callaway whether or not he felt Reed had cheated at the event, responding “Yeah” before adding
“I mean, I don’t know what he was doing, building sandcastles in the sand but you know where your club is. I took three months off, and I can promise you I know if I touched sand.”
Koepka further compared Reed’s actions to the controversy surrounding the Houston Astros who were caught stealing signs during the 2017 World Series, stating
“It’s one of those things where you know if you look at the video; obviously, he grazes the sand twice, and then he still chops down on it.
“I guess the Astros are going through that right now. Jim Crane said it when he got asked, ‘Is it cheating?’ And he said, ‘No, we just broke the rules.’ If you play the game, you understand the rules. You understand the integrity that goes on. I mean, there’s no room for it.”
The 31-year old also suggested that incidents like the Reed controversy go “on a little more than people think” on Tour and though he has “bitten his tongue in the past” he expressed how if he were to see a player improving their lie going forward he would “call them out.”
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This is cool…
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Finau was a young legend—he was on Big Break—I can’t believe that.
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Thumbs up…….
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Miggy is killing the game…
Miggy killing it as a #party host. He hired a band for halftime. @chiefs pic.twitter.com/sxqAz9wfat
— Club Pro Guy (@ClubProGuy) January 25, 2021
I kind of love this take….
Same could be said for every single era of golfers when looking back a previous eras. Most eras had a vocal few who were appalled at the “state” of the game and yet with Jones it grew, with Palmer and Nicklaus it grew, with Woods and Se-ri Pak it grew. The game has aged well. https://t.co/AujtrIbyim
— Brandel Chamblee (@chambleebrandel) January 23, 2021
DM @johnny_wunder
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Investment bank Citi decided on Monday that the company would not terminate their sponsorship of Justin Thomas following his slur earlier this month, but would make the 27-year-old donate a “meaningful portion” of his deal as part of an active role in LGBTQ causes.
Speaking in a company blog post titled “When an apology is not enough”, Carla Hassan, the chief marketing officer heavily condemned Thomas’ “beyond offensive” homophobic slur at the Tournament of Champions and revealed that the bank considered terminating their relationship with JT.
“We considered terminating our relationship with him. It would send a clear and important message, but we decided to use this moment to work with Justin to try to create change.”
Ralph Lauren ended their sponsorship of Thomas following the slur, and Hassan detailed in the post that Citi was very close to doing the same – writing that some of her colleagues felt anything less than cutting ties to JT would undermine Citi’s commitment to the LGBTQ community.
”We want to more than make it clear that it is wrong to use this word. Instead, we hope our efforts can lead more people to make an affirmative choice not to use this word or others like it – and speak up when others do – because they understand the impact it can have, including on a friend, colleague or teammates who may be struggling with the decision to disclose their sexual orientation.”
Hassan further revealed that Thomas would be required to donate a “meaningful portion” of his current deal to various LGBTQ causes, and issued a stark warning that any similar conduct would result in the termination of his sponsorship.
“If at any point we feel that Justin is not sincere in working toward this goal, we will end our relationship with him.”
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Golf Datatech, LLC, has unveiled its 2020 National Golf Performance Report which shows that 2020 saw rounds played increase by 13.9% and equipment sales by 10.1% over 2019.
According to the report, the 13.9% increase in rounds is the largest total year increase since Golf Datatech began collecting and projecting rounds played in 1998 – topping the previous largest gain of 5.7% in 2012.
It is believed that the year-over-year surge in rounds and retail sales is primarily a result of golf being positioned as an ideal socially distanced activity during a pandemic.
Speaking on the surge in rounds played, John Krzynowek, Partner, Golf Datatech stated
“While the global pandemic wreaked havoc on many segments of our economy, the golf industry experienced a significant boost in rounds played and equipment sales. On the equipment side, sales increased by low single digits in both 2018 and 2019, but the double-digit gains in 2020 can only be attributed to the pandemic and golf being a respite for so many.”
It was also a record-breaking year for retail equipment sales, with 2020’s 10.1% improvement in retail sales bettering the previous all-time high percentage gain of 10.0% in 2005.
2020 spending also reached near-record levels, with overall golf equipment sales eclipsing the $2.81 billion mark, making it the third-highest annual total of all-time, trailing behind only 2008 ($2.91 billion) and 2007 ($2.87 billion).
However, it was a challenging year for on-course golf shops, with apparel sales dropping by 14.2% – with the Covid-19 restrictions playing a massive role in the drop in action.
Additionally, a lack of international travel and lockdowns during the critical spring season in warm weather markets had a detrimental impact on many resorts, which sell a significant amount of logoed golf apparel.
But, per the report, while on-course sales declined, apparel sales at off-course specialty outlets, particularly those with a strong online presence, enjoyed significant growth in 2020.
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Jessie Richardson
Oct 6, 2020 at 4:39 am
Brooks is annoying and has an opinion about everyone except himself, we’re born imperfect therefore should humble ourselves and have empathy. Did DJ cheat in the fairway bunker, they were both accessed strokes, let’s move on get yourself healthy, in golf the intimidator is the course not the players, if you want to fight get in the ring, challenge yourself, you’re an okay player fading fast, but to dumb and brass to realize GOD is attempting to change your course, reflect, analyze, learn and move forward, look and listen more than you speak because at the end of the day no one wants to hear what you have to say anyway!
richard alan chaffier
Feb 19, 2020 at 12:22 pm
Let it go!! He made a mistake and paid the penalty. He is trying to make a living. Do you walk on water and never make a mistake that we do not know about?
Really?
Feb 19, 2020 at 3:39 pm
It’s not about “making a mistake”. It’s about intentionally breaking the rules. A mistake is no longer a mistake when it is done intentionally. Reed is a cheat.
Joe
Feb 19, 2020 at 11:43 pm
It was intentional!
A mistake is when you are typing and you hit the I instead of the T. That is a mistake.
He knew what he was doing, and it is not his first offense.
Bernard
Feb 19, 2020 at 10:54 am
Brooks is a PIA. Always has something to say about something or other. He frequently contradicts himself about golf, I don’t practice, I do practice, I don’t care about golf, I do care about golf. Something odd about this guy. My knee is not that bad, oh I can’t play in the President’s Cup because my knees is so bad. Now he says he is telling it like it is. I see cheaters all the time … Give me a break. Get of your high horse, play golf, win more , care more and zip it.
T-Bone
Feb 19, 2020 at 10:52 am
Koepka says a lot of troubling things, and nobody calls him out on it…yet.
Charlie Waffles
Feb 19, 2020 at 10:21 am
I know you need rules for the game but come on now, some rules are just plain ridiculous and serve no purpose. Not a Reed fan but taking a club back and moving some sand….putting a towel on the ground so when you kneel to take an odd shot your pants won’t get wet, get flagged for improving your lie. Totally for rules that matter, but make it reasonable.
JD
Feb 19, 2020 at 11:23 am
What Patrick Reed did, did in fact help him. While golf has a lot of odd rules that one was pretty clear. The ones he (Brooks) mentioned are also very clear and do matter
oneputt2mqany
Feb 19, 2020 at 9:37 am
sorry typos in post
the touching of the sand is NOT breaking the rules
oneputt2many
Feb 19, 2020 at 9:34 am
Reed was in a waste area not a bunker. The touching if the sand is breaking the rules. The question may be he moved stuff ( sand dirt) to improve his lie, granted. If Brooks is going to be the expert maybe he should ,more precise in is use of words. Not all sand is the same sorry Brooks. In addition to your multi Millionaires, if you are such experts on the rules why do you need referees. Why does TW get to say I dropped it in the wrong place to get a better line to the pin, and nobody makes a big deal. He admitted he did the wrong thing and received a small slap on the wrist. Either make all the waves or stay quiet/ Based on your statement I guess we will be hearing about many more golfers who take liberties. Right Brooks
Smith
Feb 19, 2020 at 11:58 am
Brooks wasn’t giving a ruling, he was giving an off-the-cuff answer on a talk show. Reid claimed that he didn’t know he was moving sand, and Brooks was saying that he would have known if he was moving sand. If I somehow missed the part where Brooks said that he was in a bunker, please enlighten me.
His point was that, by shoveling sand, Reed knew what he was doing, and he only claimed ignorance after he was caught. How are people still defending this guy?
oneputt2many
Feb 19, 2020 at 7:50 pm
I was quoting from this article
rooks Koepka has sounded off on rule breaking in the game – including the Patrick Reed incident from a few months ago.
In a town hall interview this week on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio, Koepka said that Patrick Reed knew what he was doing when he was “building sand castles” in the bunker at the Hero World Challenge.
as it turns out this was Golf Channel translation I should know better then use golf channel for anything sorry
The Infidel
Feb 19, 2020 at 5:00 am
Brooks is right on message. If you think there is a difference between intentionally breaking the rules and cheating then you’re flat out bad for the game of golf. What makes this saga so much worse is that the PGA Tour and some in the media circled the wagons round Reed at the time and now. It’s never a bad thing to tell the truth and call it is. He’s a cheater.
Smith
Feb 19, 2020 at 12:03 pm
Couldn’t agree more. Per Miriam-Webster:
Cheat: to violate rules dishonestly
Intentionally violating the rules = cheating. Doug, kick him off the tour.
Dilbert
Feb 19, 2020 at 2:19 am
Brooks seems to always be involved in some sort of gossip/drama these days. Wonder if hes one of those people???
Paul
Feb 18, 2020 at 6:38 pm
So, Brooks seen cheating in the past with your players, but chose to remain silent. How’s that better than the cheater?
geohogan
Feb 25, 2020 at 4:30 pm
@Paul. That you ask , illustrates the problem.
Like some who call out the “whistler blowers”
Garrett
Feb 18, 2020 at 6:28 pm
This world needs more Brooks Koepkas.
He has inspired me to report literally EVERY SINGLE PERSON I see texting and driving. I feel like with my stature on the road, I’ve earned that right.