Bryson DeChambeau insists he has “nothing against” Brooks Koepka

Bryson DeChambeau insists that he has “nothing against” Brooks Koepka following the pair’s very public spat in the wake of last month’s US PGA Championship.

The enmity between the Ryder Cup teammates intensified in the days following the second men’s major of the year, when footage of an unaired Golf Channel interview with Koepka was curiously leaked. 

That sparked a bizarre social media back-and-forth that seemed to confirm these two major champs are unlikely to ever braid each other’s hair.

However, speaking after the second round of this week’s Memorial Tournament – his first start since the US PGA – DeChambeau insisted he bears no ill will towards Koepka.

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“I’ve got nothing against him,” said the US Open champion. “I’ve got no issues at all. If he wants to play that game, that’s great. I’m going to keep trying to play my best game and when it comes down to it, when somebody’s that bothered by someone else it is flattering.

“He’s had stuff with other people too. Like Rory [McIlroy] and numerous others. So this isn’t a one-off thing. You know, it’s just the way he deals with stuff and I’m totally fine with it.”

DeChambeau also denied claims that he had security eject fans for heckling him over the Koepka “feud” during Friday’s second round.

Several individuals at Muirfield Village reported that DeChambeau had multiple spectators removed from the grounds after they heckled him with cries of “Brooksy”.

Not quite the case, according to the man himself.

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“The officers take care of that,” said DeChambeau. “I don’t really care. They weren’t taunts at all. It was flattering. I think it’s absolutely flattering what they’re doing. They can keep calling me that all day if they want to. I’ve got no issue with it.”

Wait… “no issue”? Somebody should tell that to the PGA Tour is saying. A representative confirmed that DeChambeau, lo and behold, “had an issue with some spectators and notified security, who dealt with them”.

Hmm.

“When you look at it, there’s obviously a distraction,” added DeChambeau, “but I grew up learning how to deal with that stuff and I honestly thought it was flattering.

“I think that, no matter what, he’s a great player and he’s won a lot of tournaments and it’s like somebody calling me Jack or Payne or Hogan or whatever. I think it’s kind of fun.” 

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Speculation is rife that the USGA might have a little Machiavellian fun by grouping DeChambeau and Koepka together in the opening two rounds of the US Open in a fortnight’s time.

If that does indeed happen, DeChambeau insists he’ll have no issue.

“I really don’t know what they’re going to do, to be honest,” he said. “They have talked a little bit about it, but I don’t know what they’ll do. Like I said, everybody thinks it’s a big deal. It’s not to me.”