Brooks Koepka recalls regretful result of taunting Michael Jordan on the golf course
Everyone has a story to tell about Michael Jordan right now. The COVID-19 crisis has created a massive audience for ESPN’s “The Last Dance” documentary on the legend’s final season with the Chicago Bulls. And it’s spawning fun stories about Jordan’s competitiveness.
Brooks Koepka, a four-time major winner, shared his tale of golfing with Jordan and a lesson he took away from the encounter. Koepka told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt on Monday’s “SportsCenter” that he and Jordan went out for a round with a few other guys in Florida. It was the second time they two had been out on the links together and Koepka held a slim advantage down the stretch.
“I was 1 up going to 17th tee. We’d been jawing all day and we have like a 40-yard walk back to the 17th tee and he hasn’t said much the last couple of holes,” Koepka said. “I said something like, ‘I’ve got you right where I want you.’”
That was a bold statement to make against one of the best athletes of all time and Jordan took it in stride. And maybe even thrived off of it.
“He just tees the ball up, takes his practice swing and looks at me, he goes, ‘It’s the fourth quarter, baby, I don’t lose,'” Koepka said.
“Sure enough I lost 17 and I lost 18. So that was probably the last time I ever smack talked him.”
Koepka, who said he’ll be at PGA Tour’s return to competition whenever or wherever that might be, said he hadn’t played Jordan since then. But he hopes they’ll do it again soon.
The latest installments of the 10-part docuseries on Jordan aired Sunday and focused on his competitive nature, from a game of pitching quarters with security guard John Michael Wozniak to his overall fondness for gambling.
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