LIV Golf: Brooks Koepka drops stunning Bryson DeChambeau admission

Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau were once arch-enemies. They have since buried that hatchet, especially after leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf. But the animosity that fueled a rivalry was so high for a while. As it turns out, Koepka had it all wrong, though.

Koepka and DeChambeau recently joined a conference call together ahead of next week’s ‘The Showdown.’

“Obviously, we’ve come a long way,” Koepka said. “Going to LIV, honestly, I think that was a big moment, even just for us, right? We were forced—well, I don’t want to say forced, but we were communicating a lot more, and our conversation became a lot more open. From there, I’m the first person to admit I can be a bit stubborn.”

At that point, DeChambeau chimed in, joking, “Oh really?”

The five-time major champion then took it a step further with a stunning admission of fault, as Golf Digest noted.

“Look, we all get older, we all mature a little bit, and then you realize, hey, Bryson’s a good dude. I think he’s severely misunderstood, and I think the world is actually starting to really see who Bryson DeChambeau is, which is cool. I’m the first person to admit it; I was wrong with what my original thoughts were.”

Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau beef a thing of the past

The dislike between Koepka and DeChambeau began back in 2019 when the former was critical of the latter’s slow play at the Dubai Desert Classic. From there, things got really contentious.

A video went viral during the 2021 PGA Championship when DeChambeau walked behind Koepka’s post-round interview. That led fans to heckle Koepka, chanting “Brooksie” during play. That culminated in PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announcing expulsions for fans heckling players.

It is all water under the bridge now, though.

“I’ve always had respect for Brooks and what he’s done and how many majors he’s won,” DeChambeau said on the conference call. “It’s been quite impressive, and even the tour events he’s won. Obviously, early on, we didn’t really understand each other. Pretty rocky relationship.”

“We had our spats,” said DeChambeau. “But we realized when we both went to LIV, we had quite a few things in common. Kind of like stepbrothers, in a sense. And we’ve developed a pretty solid relationship and have good respect for each other now.”

The LIV Golf duo are slated to face Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy in ‘The Showdown.’ The 18-hole event is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 17, at the Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas, NV.