GOLF
Koepka feud 'great' for the money, U.S. Open champion DeChambeau says
Bryson DeChambeau made reference to his potential financial gain through the PGA Tour's 'Player Impact Program' as his feud with Brooks Koepka continued at the Memorial Tournament.
Koepka is not playing at the event at the Muirfield Village Golf Club this week, but that has not prevented his rivalry with DeChambeau from escalating further.
A group of spectators were reportedly ejected from the tournament this weekend for shouting Koepka's name as DeChambeau lined up his shots.
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Koepka responded with a video on his social media page promising free beer to 50 people who had their "time cut short" or faced "any trouble".
DeChambeau, for his part, appears keen to avoid an argument, explaining: "I think that's something that the tour needs to handle. It's something I can't control.
"I tried to take the high road numerous times, and I think that, from my perspective, I'll continue to keep doing so and people are going to do what they want to do. So, it is what it is."
Capping off a long day with @MichelobULTRA! Thanks for all the support today. Also, we’ve got something for you… pic.twitter.com/kwtwXg3Kqb— Brooks Koepka (@BKoepka) June 4, 2021
However, DeChambeau also hinted at how he could benefit from the back and forth, which came to the fore after a clip of an unpublished interview with Koepka from the US PGA Championship went viral.
The clip appeared to show Koepka become distracted as DeChambeau walked past talking. He swore, cut off the interview and said: "I lost my train of thought hearing that bulls***."
DeChambeau said on Saturday: "If he keeps talking about me, that's great for the PIP fund."
The fund rewards 10 players from a $40million pot based on various metrics including their popularity on search engines and social media.
DeChambeau memes posted by legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady in the past fortnight should certainly help in that regard.
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) May 26, 2021
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) May 26, 2021
The interjections from watching fans in Ohio were less welcome, but DeChambeau praised the spectators following Saturday's third round.
"I wanted to say the fans were awesome today," he said. "They came out, supported me. Obviously, you're going to have people saying things, but it doesn't rile me up, it doesn't affect me or anything like that.
"It's great banter, it's fun, but the fans were awesome, the golf course is in great shape."
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