Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski Is A Brooks Koepka Fan

To the victor go the spoils and after wiping out Bryson DeChambeau last Friday afternoon in Las Vegas, Brooks Koepka took his crew — brother Chase and dad Robert to watch the Duke-Gonzaga basketball game at packed (sold-out) T-Mobile Arena in Vegas.

No cheap seats for Brooks and company — they sat courtside — easy pickings when you have the concierge at the Wynn working for you.  Those seats were selling for as much as $8,000 per ducat for the batttle between the No. 1 Zags and the No. 5 Blue Devils.

Duke prevailed in an 84-81 thriller and Koepka sat next to boxing legend Floyd Mayweather.

After the Duke win, Koepka got to meet the extraordinary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who’s calling it a career after this season.

Koepka introduced himself to Coach K but really didn’t need to.  “You don’t know, but I love you,” Krzyzewski said to Koepka as the two shook hands.  “No, I do, and I was cheering for you, and I thought you handled yourself well.”

Coach K cheering for Brooks over Bryson?  Yep.

Koepka and family were part of the largest crowd (20,829) ever to watch a college basketball game in Nevada.

“This was a really big time game — what a great crowd,” Coach K said after the team’s big win.

No truth to the rumor that Bryson was up in the cheap seats.

Omicron Variant Plays Havoc With South African Swing:

The re-branded European Tour, now the DP World Tour, has been hit by the new Omicron variant of COVID.

It couldn’t have come at a worse time as the Tour was starting its South African swing last week.

The Joberg Open had been reduced to 54 holes but when withdrawals piled up, it was reduced to 36-holes.  South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence, who opened with back-to-back six-under 65s at Randpark Golf Club, was declared the winner by four shots over fellow countryman Zander Lombard.

With travel bans up, two upcoming events were affected.  This week’s South African Open was downgraded to an unofficial event while the Alfred Dunhill Championship scheduled for next week has been cancelled.

Those travel restrictions would have created issues for players and caddies traveling in and out of South Africa.

Pettersen Will Be 2023 European Solheim Captain:

This one’s a natural:  Suzann Pettersen has been named the captain of the 2023 European Solheim Cup team.

The matches will be played at Finca Cortesin in Adalucia, Spain.

“This is the biggest honor of my career,” Pettersen said.