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‘Everyone was b*****g and complaining’ – Brooks Koepka explains the ‘chaos’ he thrives on at majors

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Only nine days ago, the golf world was shaken by the news of an alliance between former fierce rivals, the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, and LIV (via their Saudi connection and the PIF). 

It’s been a wild week, but now amidst that storm, there is a major championship to play for, with Brooks Koepka going for second consecutive major victory.

Koepka perhaps should have won both of the opening majors, letting a two-shot lead slip at Augusta before winning comfortably at Oak Hill. Unlike some, he is revelling in all of it.

“The more chaotic things get, the easier it gets for me.”

“Everything starts to slow down, and I am able to focus on whatever I need to focus on while everybody else is dealing with distractions, worried about other things,” he continued before giving an example of “chaotic.”

“First one that popped into my head was Shinnecock. Everyone was b******g and complaining.”

“They were all so focused on the golf course. I think they all forgot about what was going on, that they were there to play a major championship. Instead of yeah, okay, the greens are pretty fast, but if you leave yourself with an uphill putt, it’s not too bad.”

Of Koepka’s nine PGA Tour wins, only four are non-majors, and at three of those, he beat a former or subsequent major champion.

“I’m pretty sure I know what it takes to compete in majors,” he said confidently. “I’ve won five of them and been second four times. And just over my track record, how to prepare when you’re here, how to prepare when you’re home for it, I’ve got that, I guess, on lock.”

Brooks is clear about which event has meant the most to him.

“They all mean something different, but this last one, for all the stuff I had to deal with, all the pain, the tears, all the stuff that went into it,” he admitted.

He continued, “Like I said, there’s probably five, seven people in this whole world that really know what I went through and that were there every step of the way. I think they enjoyed it, maybe even more than I did.”

Soon after he lifted the Wanamaker trophy, Koepka’s coach, Pete Cowan, said that he felt his charge would “win a lot more” and that “he will go another four.”

His pupil isn’t arguing against that viewpoint.

“Don’t get me wrong it’s better than 4 (his 5 majors). Double digits is where I’m trying to get to and don’t think it’s out of the question for me. I’m only 33.”

“That’s what you’re judged on. It’s a major championship. You look at basketball, you’re judged on how many championships you’ve won, not how many games you’ve won. Same thing in every sport,” he told the media.

He may have shown his game face, but he hasn’t lost his mischievous side.

On leaving the press tent, Koepka left the media crowd with a wry nod to the chaos of the week, and the notion that very few people know where, and for whom, they are likely to be playing in the near future.

“See you guys at Travelers next week!”

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Butch Harmon reveals what he worked on with Rory McIlroy during visit earlier this year

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While speaking on the “Son of a Butch” Podcast, legendary swing coach Butch Harmon revealed what he worked on with Rory McIlroy when the four-time major champion went to visit him after the Players Championship this season.

“The work I did with him wasn’t a tremendous amount of changing what he did, it was his attitude and the way he played certain shots. From 150 yards and in he made a full swing like he was hitting a driver and I wanted him to make more 3 quarter swings and chop the follow through off a little. He’s a very high ball hitter, but with short irons high balls aren’t good, it’s hard to control, we wanted to bring the ball flight down.”

The work certainly seemed to help McIlroy, as he went on to win the Zurich Classic alongside Shane Lowry and the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in back-to-back starts.

Rory will now tee it up at Valhalla for the PGA Championship, which is the site of his most recent major victory in 2014.

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Brandel Chamblee says this technological development was key to Phil Mickelson winning major championships

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While speaking with GolfWRX, Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee shared that he believes the solid core golf ball helped Phil Mickelson win major championships.

“One of the consequences of the solid core golf ball coming around was it put the straightest of hitters in the rough.

“Phil started winning majors in 2004, I don’t think that’s any coincidence. I think he started winning majors after the solid core golf ball came along and put everybody in the rough.

“And so [Phil] is like ‘I got you in the rough, I’m going to kick your a**. This is my game. I’ve been in the rough my whole career. I can go over trees, through trees, around trees.’

“Because he’s got that amazing creativity and Phil is an underrated iron player, phenomenal iron player. Great, great great out of the trouble. If you put the top-40 players on a list and ranked them in terms of accuracy, he would be 40th.

“So, I think that was one of the consequences of the solid core golf balls was it allowed Phil to win major championships.”

Mickelson went on to win the Masters in 2004 as well as five additional majors from 2004-2021 including three total Masters, two PGA Championships, and an Open Championship.

Check out the full interview with Chamblee below:

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Former Augusta National employee pleads guilty to transporting stolen Masters memorabilia; Arnold Palmer’s green jacket among stolen items

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According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, a man was charged in Chicago with stealing millions of dollars’ worth of memorabilia from Augusta National last month.

The man, Robert Globensky, was charged with transporting the memorabilia across state lines.

The report states that between 2009 and 2022, Globensky allegedly transported “millions of dollars’ worth of Masters golf tournament merchandise and historical memorabilia” from Augusta National “and transported to Tampa, Florida, knowing the same had been stolen, converted and taken by fraud.”

The document was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Since then, more details have emerged about the case.

According to Darren Rovell of Cllct, one of the items that was stolen was Arnold Palmer’s green jacket.

The Chicago Tribune also reported that Globensky was able to steal the merchandise due to his role as a former warehouse coordinator at Augusta National who oversaw the Masters merchandise that was sold.

Rovell states that “A source with intimate knowledge of the case said an Augusta National member, who knew the jacket was missing, contacted a well-known collector who had gained a reputation for tracking down rare items. The member’s goal was to return the jacket to Augusta under the guise of purchasing it in a private sale.”

The plan worked, and the man agreed to sell the jacket for an agreed upon price of $3.6 million. After the sale was complete, the FBI swarmed the house of the thief.

Cllct also reported that Globensky pled guilty in a federal court in Chicago on Wednesday and now faces up to 10 years in prison.

The Chicago Tribune adds that Globensky’s plea deal includes an agreement to provide the government a cashier’s check for $1.5 million in the next few days.

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