GolfPlus- Dec19 Digital Edition (Dec 19) | Page 37

Brooks Koepka
measure, Koepka also fi nished second at the Masters,
second at the US Open at Pebble Beach and fourth at The
Open At Portrush.
“He was always an incredible talent,” Elliott says. “But
he’s really matured as a person, learned to accept the bad
shots more than when we started. Talent-wise, he’s hit the
ball the same. But he has worked hard on his body to
maintain strength through the golf shot and become
consistent in all areas of his game really.”
Ah yes, the body. Or in Koepka’s case, ESPN magazine’s
‘Body Issue’, an annual ode to the specimens that athletes
are and for which he recently posed nude in. Other golfers,
Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler among them, meanwhile
KOEPKA
3
1
9
1
69.4
+1.37
T2/1/2/4
T56
3rd
Week 1
have turned down similar requests when the magazine
has asked them previously.
Koepka? He not only welcomed the opportunity – not
surprising given some of the photos on his or Sims’
Instagram – but proved to have thick skin when the time
came to show it off. Golf Channel analyst Brandel
Chamblee called the decision a reckless act of self-
sabotage, with Koepka having admitted that he shed more
than 30 pounds for the racy photo shoot. But to Koepka,
it was merely fun, haters be damned.
“It’s one of those things where all these people that talk
crap on social media, they don’t have the balls to do it,
and they wouldn’t look that good,” he said.
MCILROY
Season
3
victories
Majors
0
Top 10s
14
Missed cuts
2
Scoring
69.1
average
SG Total
+2.55
Major
T21/T8/ T9/Cut
fi nishes
Players
1st
Champ
FedEx Cup
1st
WORLD RANKING
Week 37
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 3 3 3 3 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
8 8 8 8 9 9 8 6 6 6 6 4 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2
KOEPKA
MCILROY
GolfPlus
DECEMBER
2019
41