Is Koepka vs DeChambeau ‘good for the game’?

It’s hard to tell if we’re all not just being played by Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka.

Are they really involved in an intense feud or could it be a clever way to get their PIP (Player Impact Program) points ticking over on their way to the pot of gold at the end of the season?

Brooks Koepka (Credit: HSBC)

In a press conference for the upcoming Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit where DeChambeau will defend his 2020 title win from July 1-4, the US Open champion didn’t give much away.

“I’ve personally got no issue. It’s something that he’s up for discussion. If you want to talk to [Koepka] about that, you can,” said DeChambeau.

However, days later Brooks Koepka wasn’t quite as circumspect when he got his turn to speak to the media ahead of this week’s Palmetto Championship.

“It’s growing the game. I get the traditionalists who don’t agree with it. I understand that, but I think to grow the game you’ve got to reach out to the younger generation, and I don’t want to say that’s what this is, but it’s reaching out to a whole bunch of people. It’s getting golf in front of people. I think it’s good for the game.”

So it’s just a ploy to attract more media attention for the PGA Tour?

“I think it’s good for the game. I really do,” he said. “The fact that golf’s on pretty much every news outlet for about two weeks pretty consistently, I think that’s a good thing.”

It’s easy to suspicious about the whole situation but their clear dislike for each other stretches back more than two years.

Things only came to a head more recently with a leaked video from the Golf Channel showing Koepka rolling his eyes as DeChambeau walked through the back of his media conference at the PGA Championship.

So far the PGA Tour appears to be keeping quiet about the whole saga. If it begins to affect the PGA Tour brand or puts team-based tournaments like the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup in jeopardy, that might need to change.