CROMWELL, Conn. -- There are lot of reasons for Brooks Koepka to smile today as he tees off at the Travelers Championship.
He's one of the best players in the world, he tied for fourth at the U.S. Open last week, and he'll be joined in the field by his younger brother, Chase, a year after both Koepkas had to pull out of the Travelers due to covid-19.
Also, like most of the pro golfers here, he considers Cromwell one of the most enjoyable stops on the PGA Tour.
"It's a fun event," Koepka said, "definitely very enjoyable. We feel like they listen to us, and every year there are little, tiny changes in the way the tournament is run. And they really take care of the caddies."
But for Koepka, a scowl, grimace -- or an eye roll -- is never more than two words away. Make that one word: "DeChambeau."
"Like, what actually started it?" Koepka said when the inevitable feud question was tossed his way Wednesday after his pro-am round. "I thought it was just interesting when he walked up to my caddie and told Ricky [Elliott] that if I had something to say to say it to his face. I thought that was kind of odd, you don't walk up to my face and say it to my caddie.
"And then we had that conversation [about slow play] and we agreed on something and he went back on it, so if you're going to go back on your word, I don't have much respect for that."
Bryson DeChambeau, a heavy hitter, and Koepka, all business, just don't mix. For a soon-to-be 60-something who spent a few summers covering the uneasy coexistence of Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez in The Bronx, I can say we all had people in our circle who just rubbed us the wrong way.
So rather than tell 'em to get off my lawn with this silly feud, I'm more inclined to pull up a lawn chair and hope for a Rodney Dangerfield-Ted Knight "Caddyshack" moment if Koepka, ranked eighth in the world, and DeChambeau, sixth, should find themselves fighting it out for first place on Sunday.
"Hey, I love it," DeChambeau told reporters last week at the U.S. Open, where his final-round 77 took him out of contention. "I think it's so much fun. People think that it annoys me. If anything, it just creates a great atmosphere for golf. At first, I didn't really know how to handle it. You're kind of thrown into a situation. But now I enjoy it."
It started, apparently, when Koepka complained about DeChambeau's slow play in 2019. Although they supposedly cleared the air, they've been taking shots at each other ever since. Most recently, as Koepka was doing a TV interview during the PGA Championship last month, DeChambeau, wearing metal spikes, clopped behind Koepka during an interview. Koepka rolled his eyes and muttered a couple of expletives which, he says, delighted his friends throughout the pro sports world. Last week, DeChambeau again inserted himself into Koepka's TV interview, jumping and waving.
If it's all fun and games, Koepka is doing a heck of an acting job. In an interview with ESPN on Tuesday night, Koepka threw ice water on any thought of clearing of the air.
"There's not much to talk about," he said.
It'll take a lot to spoil Koepka's weekend here. Last year, Chase qualified for the Travelers on the Monday before, and Brooks was fired up to play the tournament with him. The day before the first round, Brooks' caddie, Elliott, tested positive for covid-19 and both brothers pulled out due to contact tracing. Travelers officials guaranteed Chase a spot for 2021.
"I just felt bad for my brother," Brooks Koepka said. "I don't think people really understand how hard it is to Monday in to a tournament. If I went out and tried to Monday into every PGA tournament, I'd only get in two or three of them. It's very demanding.
"He was playing so good, too. Travelers was nice enough to give him a spot back since Ricky and I took him off of the course with contact tracing. It's nice to be back and good to have my brother here, and hopefully he can have a good week and find his way into contention."