This is getting good, this is getting heated and there’s certainly no love lost between golf ball-crushing, interview-crashing, Brooks-taunting Bryson DeChambea and knee-rubbing, short-putt-missing, Bryson-cursing Brooks Koepka.
Yes, this real life spat between the two major champions is something the folks at the WWE might envy, something so many of us find to be extremely compelling and certainly worth a closer look.
We’ve even made the call to ace sports psychologist Dr. Gio Valiante to help verify many of the things we suspect about this Bryson vs. Brooks discord.
After a lengthy conversation, we believe Dr. Gio summed it up in a way we can all understand:
“This is primal. It’s like two dogs sniffing each other and they don’t like what they smell.”
Yes, thank-you, that got us right on the mark, Dr. Gio. Dr. Gio’s been taking in the Bryson-Brooks festivities along with the rest of us. “This is fun, I’m enjoying it,” he said of this ongoing battle of PGA Tour stars.
“Both are confrontational, oppositional,” Dr. Gio added to his fast analysis.
This runs pretty deep, it’s also a clash of personalities. “Keep in mind, Bryson wasn’t always 220 pounds,” Valiante reminded. He pointed out, in fact, the Brooks is basically a jock, always has been, was always the good-looking kid, popular, athletic through his growing-up years. On the other hand, “Bryson is a nerd,” Gio said matter-of-factly, and when you think about it, he’s right.
You might recall that Tiger Woods was a bit of a nerd. When he went to Stanford decked out in his black-frame glasses, he was instantly tagged with the nickname “Urkel,” after the nerdy character in the old CBS sitcom Family Matters.
“He’s a jock, not complicated, he’s a baseball player or a hockey player with a golf club in his hands. He’s an Alpha, he’s cool, Bryson isn’t,” Valiante observed.
Although with his body transformation, Bryson is doing his best to become a cool guy, but it’s a struggle. His brains and science-based education combine to rank him higher on the nerd-scale.
Although Koepka exudes “cool” — it’s a mismatch in the brain department.
So we’re fresh off the latest blow-up between these two. It happened during an interview between Todd Lewis from The Golf Channel and Koepka. Bryson marched through it, behind the two and threw a jab at Koepka and chaos ensued with Brooks going into a expletive-filled tirade and poor Lewis trying for a re-set.
It hasn’t stopped.
Bryson’s most recent Tweet to Koepka said: “It’s great living rent-free in your head.”
Koepka retaliated when the announcement came earlier this week that DeChambeau would team with Green Bay quarterback (for now) Aaron Rodgers in a July match against Phil Mickelson and Tampa Bay Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady.
Keopka tweeted this to Rodgers: “Sorry bro.”
“These two don’t like each other,” Valiante observed, verifying what we think we already know. “And it’s beyond dislike, it’s contempt.”
Don’t look for it to get physical, in an interview a couple of years back, Bryson said: “Let’s be honest, we know who would win that fight, and it’s not me.”
“You got that right,” was Koepka’s response.
That’s okay, no boxing match between these guys.
We have a better solution and it would be MUCH, MUCH better than that Phil Mickelson-Tiger Woods $1 million winner-takes-all match.
We want Bryson vs. Brooks in a $1 million winner-take-all golf match.
“I agree,” said Dr. Gio Valiante. “There should be smart money putting that together right now.”
6 Comments
baxter cepeda
Interesting psycho analysis of these two. Personally I see these two as one in the same.
Brooks has quite a bit of nerd in him and Bryson is a lot more jock than he likes to admit.
Brooks from all accounts is not the most popular; he started his pro career in mostly obscurity in Europe despite his talent; and even after he won majors no reporters attended his boring press conferences; that’s when he started looking for more attention with polarizing comments. Brooks knows what it’s like to feel like a nerd no one wants to talk to.
Bryson meanwhile gets lots of attention, always has, at least since those big time college wins. Bryson imo gets away with all his emphasis geek golf, math, science, because he is so athletic. Whether it’s a steady one plane or full blown long drive swing, Bryson is an athlete, and all his zany ideas work well enough because he is a stud.
That being said neither one comes close to the real popular figures in golf today: Tiger, Phil, Jordan, Rory.
Physically At this point bryson and brooks are hard to distinguish from a distance.
And Both can get pretty serious tempers; the only difference is Bryson is learning to control it.
I could go on but you get the point. While they are different; who isn’t?, they share too many similarities; this may be the bigger issue at hand.
Imo.
Tom Edrington
Oh no, right away, Dr. Gio will differ with you, Brooks = Pure Jock; Alpha Dog; And until you get your PhD Baxter, I’ll go with Dr. Gio on this one…
baxter cepeda
I understand what the good doctor is saying; and agree. But the facts I laid out show it’s not that simple.
Brooks initially was annoyed with Bryson misbehaving; but now brooks is doing some of the same cursing on camera and what not.
I think brooks is threatened by Bryson. Brooks wanted to be the big boy in the block but Bryson got bigger. Threatened.
Regardless, it’s weird to say it because I was annoyed with Bryson a while back also, but I’m on team Bryson at the minute.
Brooks needs to chill out.
Tom Edrington
I think if you suggested to Brooks’ face that he’s threatened, well, I wouldn’t….lol
baxter cepeda
Just saying since this is a psychology article; often someone acting like this shows insecurity.
I would be trying to get brooks chill out on the Twitt spats and instead focus on himself winning majors again; because he has as good chance as anyone.
It’s the same question Butch asked Rickie. What does Brooks want? Majors? Or this passive aggressive or downright aggressive Twitter persona from disrespecting his colleagues?
Brooks may be the next Johnny Miller we are waiting for someday. But the way I remember brooks has had his best playing success when he was quiet and no one really cared. I’m not saying go all the way back there; but maybe just a little…for now.
Tom Edrington
Bryson is the more “personable” of the two, Bryson wants to be liked; Brooks could care less, hence if you were to ask those who do the golf broadcasts, I believe, off the record, their most common description of Koepka’s personality would be: “Surly”