Brooks Koepka said he has heard it all from the fans.
Some good. Some not. But it’s just idle chatter in his eyes — or more appropriately, his ears.
Koepka, however, said he understood the logic behind the PGA Tour’s updated fan conduct policy, which aims to put a halt to disrespectful behavior at golf tournaments.
“I mean, when you’re out there, you can hear everything, so everybody’s been told something or said something they didn’t like and, I mean, that’s sports,” Koepka said. “It’s not a sport if you (don’t have) people cheering for you and against you. It’s kind of difficult to call it a sport, isn’t it?
“But, yeah, I mean, I think there comes a time and a place I think where you can see fan behavior get a little excessive. You kind of see it in the NBA a little bit. Maybe out here as well.
“But, like I said, everybody try to be as respectful as you can be. Players, everybody, the fans, everybody could use a little bit more respect.”
Commissioner Jay Monahan addressed the updated fan conduct policy earlier this week during a news conference at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. When asked specifically about taunts involving about Bryson DeChambeau, Monahan made his intentions clear.
“The barometer that we are all using is the word ‘respect,’ and to me, when you hear ‘Brooksy’ yelled or you hear any expression yelled, the question is, is that respectful or disrespectful?” Monahan said. “That has been going on for an extended period of time. To me, at this point, it’s disrespectful, and that’s the kind of behavior and we’re not going to tolerate going forward.”
Koepka said Thursday that he often turns a deaf ear when he hears derogatory comments coming from the fans.
“If I got something smart to say, I’ll say it,” Koepka said. “But I mean, most of the time I don’t give them the time of day. I hear everything. It doesn’t matter what you say, I’m so focused on what I got to do. And let’s be honest, most of them wouldn’t say that stuff if they were in the street right next to me, so, and I know that, but you put a rope in between us and they think it’s going to protect them.”
–Field Level Media