‘Shut up and listen:’ PGA star Brooks Koepka has strong words about mics on players
The PGA Tour’s return without spectators has television producers thinking about other ways for players to engage with fans, but not everyone is on board.
When the tour resumed at the Charles Schwab Challenge last week, Rickie Fowler was mic’d up for his opening round to invite viewers into his thoughts on the course and interactions with his caddie.
Fowler was the only player wearing a mic at Colonial Country Club. But a microphone picked up PGA Tour star Brooks Koepka appearing to say “pretty f------ good there,” after playing partner Jon Rahm holed a chip shot.
Asked about his thought on players wearing microphones after his first round at the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing, Koepka didn’t hold back.
“I don’t understand why they want us to wear a mike when there’s a boom mike that stands 10 feet away from every shot that I hit,” Koepka said after opening with a 4-under-par 67 in his first start at Harbour Town Golf Links. “If the announcers would just shut up and listen, you could hear every word that we’re talking about.”
Fowler said this week he was open to the idea of wearing a microphone because he’s interested in how a player and caddie talk through certain shots. He said the required pack he wore was lighter than his phone.
“I think, as a golf fan, that’s the most interesting,” he said. “Just seeing what they’re going through and if it was pulled off or not.”
Spieth gets hot
Jordan Spieth shook off a slow start at Harbour Town with a hot finish.
Spieth was 3 over after a triple bogey on the par-4 12th, his third hole of the day. After making the turn, he ran off six consecutive birdies on the front side to shoot 5-under 66.
“In the middle of it, I thought ‘this would be really cool to birdie the last eight,’” Spieth said.
But he broke the streak with a par on the eighth. He made birdie on the short par-4 ninth to close in 29.
After contending for the first time at Colonial Country Club last week before a tie for 10th, Spieth said he was still getting comfortable playing around the lead.
Rory McIlroy in uncomfortable spot
World No. 1 Rory McIlroy recalls feeling a bit uneasy during his first visit to Harbour Town in 2009. Now back for the first time since then, he said he’s still working to figure out the course after opening with a 1-over 72 on a day scores were low.
McIlroy said he spent his practice rounds trying to familiarize himself with unfamiliar holes and proper angles to take.
“I’m just not comfortable and sort of trying to pick lines and really commit to shots,” McIlroy said. “I just wasn’t as committed today as I need to be around here.”
This story was originally published June 18, 2020 at 2:46 PM.
