‘It Was Pretty Bad..’: Hours Before Teeing It Up at the PGA Championship, Brooks Koepka Blames Himself For $3,240,000 ‘Choke’

Last month’s Masters was truly a spectacle unlike any other. Millions of people tuned in to see if Brooks Koepka would be the golfer to bring a major trophy to the Saudi-backed LIV faction. After all, the 4-time major winner had been at the top of the leaderboard for most of the event.

But, a brilliant Jon Rahm soon edged past Koepka to shatter his dreams of winning the coveted green jacket. Before he took the field at New York’s Oak Hill Country Club, the LIV golfer appeared on the Pardon My Take podcast to talk about his now-infamous Masters “choke.”

In the past, Brooks Koepka has claimed four major titles. His first came in 2017 when the golfer won the U.S. Open title, a victory he successfully defended the next year. The 33-year-old also has two consecutive PGA Championship victories to his name.

But, the iconic green jacket has evaded the golfer so far. He came close to winning it last month, having a 54-shot lead over other golfers at Augusta. A final round 3-over 75, however, saw the golfer finish four shots behind the eventual winner, Jon Rahm. Appearing at the Pardon My Take podcast on Wednesday, the former World No. 1 shed light on his loss from April.

So, would Koepka term his Masters outcome as a choke? “Yeah, I’d characterize it as a choke,” he confessed to hosts Dan Katz and Eric Sollenberger. The LIV pro, who had a four-shot lead going into the event’s third round, said, “It was pretty bad. I mean, c’mon, you’ve got a four-shot lead. All you’ve got to do — I was playing good and just choked it away.” He eventually tied for the 2nd position on the leaderboard with fellow LIV compatriot, Phil Mickelson.