The last time we saw Brooks Koepka’s name in the headlines prior to this week it was when his peers voted Rory Mcllroy, not him, the Tour’s Player of the Year. While Brooks had been quiet about the decision, there was no question that it was only a matter of time before he broke that silence.
Well, he met with the media on Wednesday ahead of this week’s Shriners for Hospital Children’s Open and he did not disappoint when the POY topic was brought up.
[irp posts=”128192″ name=”Shriners Hospitals for Children Open Picks”]
Brooks responded to not being named player of the year by comparing himself to LeBron, “I mean LeBron’s only won 4 MVP’s, I’m pretty sure he’s been the best player for more than just 4 years…” pic.twitter.com/RKfDvReoNu
— Fantasy Golf Pod (@fantasygolfpod) October 2, 2019
When asked his reaction to Rory winning over him, Brooks had the following to say:
“I don’t play for awards. I just play to win. Win trophies. Win tournaments.”
Let me dust off the fire retardant suit because Brooksie just spit some straight fire. But wait, it gets better. He then went on to compare himself to one of the greatest athletes on the planet, Lebron James:
“I mean LeBron’s only won 4 MVP’s, I’m pretty sure he’s been the best player for more than just 4 years…”
The crazy part is, Brooks isn’t wrong here. If you ask anyone who the best basketball player has been year in and year out over the past 10+ years I think you would be hard-pressed to find few, if any, who wouldn’t say Lebron. Meanwhile, as Brooks pointed out in his 16-year career, Lebron has only won the MVP award 4 times.
Those weren’t the only headlines that Brooks made today during his press conference either. We also learned that the day after the Tour Championship, Koepka had a procedure done on his knee.
Brooks Koepka says he had a partially torn patella tendon he's been rehabbing since the Tour Championship. Underwent stem-cell treatment. Says he now feels comfortable being able to practice again after wrist/knee issues.
— Nick Menta (@NickMentaGC) October 2, 2019
While for most golfers, the lack of practice time leading up to a tournament means that they probably won’t have a good chance that week, history says the opposite for Brooks. Given the fact that he is clearly bothered by the POY snub, we shouldn’t be surprised when he goes out and wins running away this week.
