Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka booed on first tee at PGA Championship
Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka were paired together for the third round of the PGA Championship but were booed by spectators on the first tee
Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau were booed on the first tee of their third round at the US PGA Championship. Both Koepka and DeChambeau were paired together for the third round of the major championship at the Oak Hill Country Club in Pittsford, New York.
The duo both swapped the PGA Tour for the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series last year, which has been met with widespread criticism in the world of the sport. The Official World Golf Rankings still do not use results from LIV which has led to players dramatically falling down the rankings.
Saturday saw Koepka and DeChambeau link up for a rare pairing for the third round of the US PGA. The duo were due to tee off in the third to last group as each challenged to win the second major championship of the year.
Koepka went into the round at two-under par, while DeChambeau was one shot better off at three-under par. However, when the pair were about to begin their round, they were met with boos from spectators.
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After the start announced each player, the fans around the tee booed as they began to tee off. While both players were booed, it was noticeable that the one after DeChambeau’s name was announced was marginally louder.
It led to CBS commentator Jim Nantz even making a comment after the booing. "Not a warm welcome," said Nantz. "I've never heard that, for that matter, at any point back to last summer."
Koepka and DeChambeau being paired together may not have seemed like headline news, but had that happened a couple of years ago then it certainly would have. The pair were involved in a feud which had started after Koepka had criticized DeChambeau for slow play after the Dubai Desert Classic in January 2019.
The pair appeared to clear the air at the Northern Trust Open later that year. However, each player continued to make comments about each other over the course of 2020.
Most recently, Koepka was asked about DeChambeau during an Instagram Q&A back in February. It was here where he said the disagreement between the duo had been “squashed”.
"Believe it or not, we squashed it," Koepka said. "We're good. I actually talk to him quite frequently because of what’s going on here at LIV. Pretty much on an every-other-day basis. We've got a good open line of communication, we've figured it all out and we’re good."
Both players went on to join the LIV Golf series last year, along with a number of other high-profile golfers from the PGA And European Tours. Fellow major winners Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia and Patrick Reed are just some of the players to make the switch over the last 12 months.