Collin Morikawa experienced a reasonably comfortable in the PGA Championship in the end last night, but the big surprise of the round was Brooks Koepka's failure to perform.
A player who prides himself in showing in producing his best form for major championships, he had positioned himself perfectly to make a charge in the final round.
He certainly felt confident going in, saying that his experience in majors would be key and having a pop at then leader Dustin Johnson for having only won major win under his belt.
I like my chances. When I’ve been in this position before, I’ve capitalised. I don’t know, (Johnson)’s only won one.
I’m playing good. I don’t know, we’ll see.
He also told CBS: “A lot of the guys on the leaderboard, I don’t think have one. I guess DJ has only won one, but I don’t know the other guys that are up there.”
This sort of confrontational attitude is a rarity in golf. It also didn't work for Koepka, who shot a four-over 74 to finish well out of contention on -3.
He is unlikely to have impressed too many fellow pros with those comments either.
Rory McIlroy was asked for his take on the issue, and said he didn't really feel comfortable speaking about competitors in such a manner. He was also quick to point out that Johnson has a much superior record compared to Koepka in the PGA Tour overall.
Rory McIlroy’s comments on Brooks Koepka taking a stab at DJ
SHEESH pic.twitter.com/6cbXvdjBvJ— Always Bring The Sticks (@ABTSticks) August 10, 2020
It's different. It's a very different mentality to bring to golf that not a lot of golfers have.
When I was watching the golf last night and heard the interview I was taken aback by what he said, and whether he was trying to play mind games or not. If he's trying to play mind games he is doing it with the wrong person because I don't think DJ [Dustin Johnson] is concerned about that.
It's different. I certainly try to respect everyone out here, everyone is a great player. If you've won a major championship you're a hell of a player.
It's not that you've only won one. You've won one and you've had to do a lot of good thing to do that.
It's sort of hard to knock a guy that has got 21 wins on the PGA Tour, which is three times what Brooks has.
