Brooks Koepka Says Bryson DeChambeau Didn't Honor Deal over Feud: He's 'Fair Game'

All bets are off in the public war of words between Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.

Koepka spoke to reporters Tuesday about the ongoing feud, saying DeChambeau violated an agreement the pair had when he made comments about Koepka appearing in the ESPN Body Issue.

"He didn't like that I had mentioned his name in slow play, so we had a conversation in the locker room," Koepka said of their conversation at the 2019 Northern Trust. "And then I guess we said something else in the press conference but didn't mention his name in it, and he walked up to [Koepka's caddie] Ricky [Elliott], said something. It was, 'You tell your man if he's got something to say, say it to myself.' I thought that was ironic because he went straight to Ricky. Ricky told me when I came out, hit a few putts, and then just walked right over to him, we had a conversation.

"We both agreed we'd leave each other out of it and wouldn't mention each other, just kind of let it die off, wouldn't mention each other's names, just go about it. So then he decided I guess he was going on that little, whatever, playing video games online [on Twitch in which he made light of Koepka appearing in ESPN's The Body Issue] or whatever and brought my name up and said a few things, so now it's fair game."

Koepka and DeChambeau have become golf's hottest rivalry in 2021. While their feud has been simmering for years, it reached a fever pitch when a leaked video of Koepka rolling his eyes at DeChambeau went viral in May. Almost overnight, the rivalry went from a niche in the golf world to a discussed national story.

Koepka has especially been public in his dislike of DeChambeau, offering several biting comments and even subtweeting DeChambeau after the sudden departure of his longtime caddie, Tim Tucker, earlier this month.

DeChambeau has called the rivalry "great for golf," and it's hard to disagree. With Tiger Woods indefinitely off the course, the sport needs a focus, and the Koepka-DeChambeau rivalry has stepped into the void.