“He’s having the best run in golf since Tiger in 2000 and 2001.” - CBS announcer Jim Nantz said about Brooks Koepka - Jim Nantz is picking Brooks Koepka to win the PGA Championship – even if he believes not many others will. The CBS announcer fielded questions on a conference call on Wednesday afternoon, just more than a week before the year’s second major, at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, N.Y. Nantz was asked about players such as Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy. He brought up Koepka on his own, and then went on a rant. “Poor Brooks Koepka,” Nantz said (per Golf.com) of Koepka, the defending champion and winner of three of the past eight majors. “If I don’t bring up his name right now, you guys are never gonna bring him up. It’s borderline tragic in terms of how you cover a player or subject. He’s having the best run in golf since Tiger in 2000 and 2001. We’re gonna create the story there and it’s just not interesting enough to us to be able to give the guy the time. Forget how much time he exerts and gives to those of us who cover him. I’m not concerned with that. I’m just talking about facts.” Nantz called Koepka “a star right here on our hands” and added that the media, including himself, need to do a better job of sharing Koepka’s story. He also pointed to a rivalry in the making between Woods and Koepka. Woods and Koepka have finished first and second in each of the past two majors, Woods losing to Koepka at Bellerive and Koepka falling short of Woods at Augusta National last month. And, in Nantz’s opinion, Koepka’s current major run draws comparisons to Woods, who at one point, from 1999 to 2001 won five of six majors, including four straight from the 2000 U.S. Open to the 2001 Masters. “In the last 13 major championships that he’s played in, he’s got 11 top-13 finishes,” Nantz said. “That means he’s been in contention 11 out of 13 majors. That breaks down to eight top-10s, seven top-6s, six top-5s, four top-4s, and three wins and a second. We all know he’s won three of the last seven he’s played in. We haven’t seen anybody that dominant in the game since Tiger in 2000 and 2001.” But Nantz failed to point out Woods’ run from 2005 to 2008, where Woods won six of 14 majors and also finished in the top 4 six other times during that span. That stretch also makes Koepka’s current run look average. Even Rory McIlroy’s seven-major run of two wins and six total top-9 finishes may be better, as Koepka’s last seven major starts include three wins but just one other top-10. Nantz's defense of Koepka comes just days after Koepka posted a Photoshopped image of Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee with a clown nose, a response to Chamblee leaving Koepka off a list of Woods' challengers at Bethpage and a month earlier criticizing Koepka's weight loss. Koepka's no-respect story line first came into the spotlight at last year's PGA. Koepka is playing this week's AT&T Byron Nelson as a tune-up for next week's PGA. He shot 6-under 65 in the opening round. "I just want to strike the ball well," Koepka said. "If I can strike it well and leave Sunday positive, feel like that hole is kind of opening up and make a few putts and everything should take care of itself. Obviously the goal is to win but if you don't, want to feel good leaving for next week."<doc-sep>Even if Brooks Koepka gets the last laugh, at least Brandel Chamblee can laugh about it. Koepka, the three-time major winner and this week's defending champion, has been in a month-long back-and-forth with Chamblee, the Golf Channel analyst, that took its latest turn on Thursday at Bethpage. Koepka began his title defense with a 7-under-par 63, setting a new Black Course record and staking himself to the Day 1 lead at the PGA Championship. This, after Chamblee has criticized Koepka over the last month for engaging in "reckless self-sabotage" in slimming down for a reported ESPN Body Issue photo shoot and questioned his toughness. Your browser does not support iframes. PGA Championship: Scores | Full coverage "I've been flipped off a few times in my life – probably not as often as you'd think – but I felt like he was giving me the finger for 4 1/2 hours out there today," Chamblee said on Thursday night's edition of "Golf Central Live From the PGA." Most recently, Koepka tweeted out a photoshopped image of Chamblee in a clown nose after the analyst cited only Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy among players who could hang with Tiger Woods at his best. "I gotta tell you, I enjoyed it," Chamblee continued on Thursday, referring to Koepka's round. "Outside of his immediate family, I can't think anybody who enjoyed that round more than I did."<doc-sep>IRVING, TEXAS - MAY 07: Brooks Koepka of USA talks to the media during his press conference prior to the start of the AT&T Byron Nelson on May 07, 2019 in Irving, Texas. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images) Jordan Spieth: “A couple tee balls away from really having a chance to win.” Jordan Spieth: “A couple tee balls away from really having a chance to win.” by Kathlene Bissell Brooks Koepka might not always get the media attention that a player with his resume would expect, but that’s okay. He’s back in action at this week’s AT&T Byron Nelson, and he’s ready to gear up for his title defense at the PGA Championship. Every golfer has a different method for preparing for majors. Tiger Woods likes to work on his game away from competition. Phil Mickelson has often played the week before a major because he likes the pressure of performing in advance of big events. Brooks Koepka is in the Mickelson camp. “I think Augusta is the only one I don’t do it,” Keopka said to media at the AT&T Byron Nelson. “The rest of them I like to play the week before.” It’s about getting some momentum, he explained. “You don’t need to play that great,” he added, noting that last summer he played the FedEx St. Jude and then the WGC Firestone prior to the PGA, which he won. “I like building a little bit of rhythm, finding your game, figuring out how to score, to manage your game.” He did not practice at all last week, but he was involved in other golf activities. Koepka was the honoree at the Friends of Golf tournament at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles. Then, on Monday he hit a golf ball from Governor’s Island in New York City to a barge floating in the middle of the Hudson River as part of a Michelob Ultra marketing campaign. Because Koepka hit the barge, people in New York City can get a free beer on May 16, the first day of the PGA Championship held at Bethpage Black on Long Island. This week, his goal is getting back into the basics of his game which is to hit shots the way he envisions them. “They don’t need to be perfect. If I’m trying to fade the ball into a flag and maybe over fade it or hit it dead straight, that’s fine. That’s the miss you want if you’re going to hit it dead straight,” he explained. “I’m not so concerned with the little things, you know, like making bogey from a hundred yards or maybe not getting up and down, going for par-5s, not getting up and down. Mainly just how am I hitting it?” Maybe that’s part of the secret to his success. He’s not seeking perfection. He’s seeking good enough to get the job done. There’s a big difference. Golfers can drive themselves crazy seeking perfection. Brooks Koepka was not down on himself after the Masters, where he finished second to Tiger Woods. His said his putts at the 17th and 18th in the final rounds were misreads. When that kind of thing happens, he explained, it’s hard to find the victory circle. “I was pretty happy with how I played,” he said. “I made two doubles. It’s tough to win if you’re going to do that, especially at Augusta. Second place isn’t much fun, but you move on. I think Tiger made it look closer than it actually was with the final score.” Koepka’s doubles were at the second hole in round two and the 12th hole in round four. This week, his focus is on the sightlines of the course. He wants to know, off the tee, where can he miss it if the drive isn’t perfect. The on the shot to the green, he asks himself the same thing. “I kind of work the hole backwards. That’s kind of one of my things,” he added. “It’s all about pin locations and angles. I think that’s the best way to play it.” As far as his budding, mano a mano relationship with Woods, he said, they occasionally text. Koepka sent him a “ Congrats” message after the Masters. Woods responded with “We’re 1-1.” Then Koepka said, “Hopefully we’ll make that 2-1 very shortly.” And he didn’t mean Woods being in the lead. He meant defending his PGA Championship title. According to CBS Sports’ golf anchor Jim Nantz, Brooks Koepka has never received the attention he deserves for his play over the last two seasons. “It’s borderline tragic in terms of how you cover a player or subject. He’s having the best run in golf since Tiger in 2000 and 2001,” Nantz said in a CBS conference call to preview the PGA Championship. “We all know he’s won three of the last seven he’s played in,” Nantz continued. Nantz cited Woods finishing second to Koepka at the PGA and Koepka finishing second to Woods at the Masters. “We might be on the brink of the next great golf rivalry, the golf rivalry we’ve wanted forever,” Nantz continued, “and no one’s going to talk about it. In my mind he’s the favorite coming into Bethpage, just based on fact.” Want your voice heard? Join the Pro Golf Now team! Write for us! So, while Koepka works on finding his own path on the road to golf superstardom, he has at least picked up one influential fan. Nantz vowed Brooks Koepka won’t be ignored by CBS.<doc-sep>
Jim Nantz thinks that Brooks Koepka has the advantage heading into the PGA Championship, and he could be setting up the next great golf rivalry with Tiger Woods. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images) Jim Nantz won’t hesitate to tell you who his favorite golfer on the PGA Tour is right now. But it’s not the one that captivated the sports world last month with his incredible comeback at Augusta National. It’s Brooks Koepka. Nantz, who leads CBS’s golf coverage, was asked on Wednesday about his thoughts on the field heading into next week’s PGA Championship — the second major tournament of the season at Bethpage Black in New York. Pretty quickly, Nantz started talking about Koepka, who he feels hasn’t received the media coverage he deserves. “Poor Brooks Koepka. If I don’t bring up his name right now, you guys are never gonna bring him up,” Nantz said, via Golf.com. “It’s borderline tragic in terms of how you cover a player or subject. He’s having the best run in golf since Tiger in 2000 and 2001. We’re gonna create the story there and it’s just not interesting enough to us to be able to give the guy the time. Forget how much time he exerts and gives to those of us who cover him. I’m not concerned with that. I’m just talking about facts.” Now, Nantz has a point. Koepka has been extremely impressive on the course as of late. The 29-year-old already has a win on Tour this year — picking up the season-opening win at The CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges — and has two second place finishes, one at The Honda Classic and the other at the Masters Tournament, just behind Tiger Woods. He’s currently No. 8 in the FedExCup rankings, and No. 3 in the World Golf Rankings. When looking at his performances at majors, it’s even more impressive. Koepka has won back-to-back U.S. Opens and has finished in the top-13 in seven of the last eight majors he’s played in. The way he’s playing, Nantz said, is reminiscent of the beginning of Wood’s career. “In the last 13 major championships that he’s played in, he’s got 11 top-13 finishes,” Nantz said, via Golf.com. “That means he’s been in contention 11 out of 13 majors. That breaks down to eight top-10s, seven top-6s, six top-5s, four top-4s, and three wins and a second. We all know he’s won three of the last seven he’s played in. We haven’t seen anybody that dominant in the game since Tiger in 2000 and 2001.” Story continues The Koepka vs. Woods rivalry Koepka will attempt to defend his title next week at Bethpage Black, which is hosting the PGA Championship for the first time. Koepka would be the first to win back-to-back at the PGA Championship since Woods did so in 2006 and 2007. The pair have finished first and second in their past two majors, too. Koepka took the PGA Championship last August, with Woods finishing two strokes behind him, and Woods edged Koepka out for the green jacket by a single stroke at the Masters last month. While Woods and Koepka are undoubtedly at different points in their careers, Nantz still believes that their battle could be one of the best in the history of golf. “We might be on the brink of the next golf rivalry we’ve all wanted forever,” Nantz said, via Golf.com. “They’ve gone one-two and one-two in the last two major championships. “In my mind [Koepka] is the favorite coming into Bethpage just based on what he’s done in his last 13 majors. It’s an awesome stretch for him, and I think it’s a very good thing for the welfare of the game. I’m hoping that materializes into another little showdown between these two guys.” More from Yahoo Sports: