Brandel Chamblee rips into Brooks Koepka

Brandel Chamblee has blasted Brooks Koepka and said the three-time major champion has potentially blown his chances of winning The Masters by slimming down for a topless magazine shoot.

Koepka estimates he has lost approximately 25lbs – almost a stone-and-a-half – since November in order to get in peak condition for a rumoured debut appearance in ESPN Magazine’s famous ‘Body Issue’. 

The magazine has featured several high profile golfers posing either nude or semi-nude, Gary Player and Greg Norman amongst them.

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Whilst his inclusion this year is still to be 100% confirmed, Koepka admitted last month that the ‘intentional’ weight loss had cost him over ten yards in driving distance off the tee and, on Tuesday, he told reporters at Augusta National that he had been restricting himself to 1,800 calories a day as he throttled back on bulking up. 

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A smart move? Not as far as Golf Channel analyst Chamblee is concerned.

“For him to change his body and his body chemistry for vanity reasons, for a vanity shoot, is the most reckless self-sabotage that I have ever seen by an athlete in their prime,” he said.

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“I get why they asked Gary Player to do that shoot, I get why they asked Greg Norman and I get why they do that shoot. Those guys are fit guys but to do something that takes you out of your game, to change your game completely, to see somebody’s body change drastically, it’s never worked out very well. 

“It’s led to a deterioration. You’re talking about a guy who I think would be top of everybody’s list to win at Augusta National had he not done this.” 

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