Brooks Koepka pulls no punches calling out slow play by J.B. Holmes

Brooks Koepka completed a great year in the majors at The Open Championship on Sunday, but he made it clear how he felt about the slow play of playing partner J.B. Holmes.

With a fourth place finish in the 148th Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland on Sunday, Brooks Koepka became just the fourth golfer in the modern era to finish fourth or better in all four majors in a season.

J.B. Holmes shared the 36-hole lead this week, and he was paired with Koepka for Sunday’s final round. Holmes is one of the slowest players on the PGA Tour, which his peers are surely keenly aware of.

Koepka is not afraid to speak his mind, up to and including calling out his peers when he has an issue with something they do. It can be difficult for a weekend golfer to seriously lament slow play by the pros from their couch, since “these guys are playing for money”.

But Koepka seemed to perfectly sum up the flaw in Holmes’ approach, which even weekend hackers can appreciate.

Simply being somewhere close to ready to hit or putt when it’s your turn is a prerequisite at any level of golf, not to mention a nice move in regard to etiquette. Koepka is basically saying Holmes operates in his own little world, with no regard for his fellow players.

Koepka’s reaction to Holmes’ plumb-bob routine before a double-bogey putt (that he wound up missing, by the way) on the sixth hole Sunday says it all.

Holmes remained in the hunt with a 69 on Saturday. But his final round went off the rails quickly when his first tee shot went out of bounds, and his 16-over 87 tied for the highest score in a final round of an Open Championship since 1966 as he fell from third place to a tie for 67th. What’s that they say about karma?