It’s no secret that Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka aren’t exactly besties. And, neither one is known for having a sparkling personality.
The rivalry is also intriguing since both are “heavyweights” on the PGA Tour, not only in stature, but in size.
So, I thought it would be fun to dive into this rivalry to see who is actually the better golfer, and who would a fight between the two!
Brooks Koepka
Brooks Koepka is 31 years old, stands 6 feet tall, and weighs in at 205 pounds. He’s been playing on the PGA Tour since 2014 after turning pro in 2012.
Koepka got his first win in 2015 after achieving full time status in 2014 due to a 4th place finish in the U.S. Open.
He then got a couple top 10s in majors in 2015-2016 with a T-10 in the Open Championship and a T-4 in the PGA Championship the following year. He then won the Dunlop Phoenix event in Japan.
In 2017, Brooks tied Rory McIlroy’s tournament record of -16 in the U.S. Open, played at Erin Hills in Wisconsin. The golf course seemed to favor long hitters, and definitely did not have the typical U.S. Open feel. As such, I remained skeptical of his major championship ability.
However, after wrist surgery sidelined him early in the 2018 season, he defended his title with a win at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island. Now, I was convinced.
He then followed this up with a third major in the PGA Championship later that summer in St. Louis. In October, he won the CJ Cup and became the Number 1 ranked player in the world.
In 2019, Koepka defended his PGA Championship after nearly 3-peating at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. He also finished second behind Tiger Woods in The Masters. He won his second consecutive PGA Player of the Year award.
In 2020, Koepka battled knee and hip issues, and called it a year in August. He came back in 2021 with a win at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, and more recently finished second in the PGA Championship behind Phil Mickelson.
So, that’s the overall record. Koepka has 8 PGA Tour wins, 7 international wins, and 4 majors. Those 4 majors put him ahead of Hall of Famers such as Greg Norman, Johnny Miller and Ben Crenshaw.
Koepka tends to show up in the big events, as he just got another top 5 finish in the US Open at Torrey Pines. But, he seems to be a bit disinterested when it comes to regular tour events.
Koepka Performance
So far this year, Koepka has a total figure of 1.833 total strokes gained. His strength is tee to green, where he has gained 1.45 strokes on the field. His weakness is around the green, where has gained just .176 strokes.
Interestingly, his numbers this year are better than 2019, arguably his best year, where he gained a total of 1.366 strokes overall. Again, putting and short game were his weaknesses.
However, so far this year, he has missed six cuts out of 14 tournaments played. In 2018 he only missed 2 out of 17 tournaments entered, and in 2019, he missed just 1 cut in 21 events.
So, clearly, Koepka relies on his length off the tee, and his ability to hit greens even from the rough. He’s a classic bomb and gouger.
But, no more so than DeChambeau, who is now the ultimate bomb and gouger. Let’s have a look at the DeChambeau record.
Bryson DeChambeau
Bryson DeChambeau is 27 years old, stands 6’1 and weighs in at 235-240 pounds.
In 2015, DeChambeau became just the fifth player to win the NCAA Championship and the U.S. Amateur in the same year.
Immediately after The Masters in 2016, he turned professional.
DeChambeau is known for his very scientific approach to the game. He uses a single length set of irons, and over the last two years has bulked up his physique considerably, which has allowed him to become the longest hitter on tour.
After turning pro, he finished 15th in the U.S. Open at Oakmont, but ultimately did not earn enough money during the season to maintain full time status on the tour. However, he did qualify for the Web.com tour finals, and his finish there secured his full time status for the 2017 season.
That year, he got his first win on tour in the John Deere Classic.
2018 was a breakout year for Bryson, as he won four times, including The Memorial, The Northern Trust, the Dell Technologies Championship, and then the Shriners tournament early in the 2019 season (November 2018).
In late 2019, Bryson began to focus on adding muscle mass. He gained 20 poinds prior to the Covid-19 break, and then another 20 pounds during the break. His swing speed went up considerably from there to well over 125 mph. If you want to build muscle like Bryson, check out this post.
In July 2020 he won the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He then won the U.S. Open at Winged Foot for his first career major, shooting 67 in the final round to come from behind and win by six shots.
In March 2021, he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, for his eigth PGA Tour win.
DeChambeau has one other professional win, the 2019 Dubai Desert Classic on the European Tour.
Unfortunately, as I write this post, the PGA Tour website is not allowing access to his performance stats.
My observation of his game is that he has clearly gained substantial strokes off the tee due to the added length. I read recently that his maximum swing speed is about 135 mph, which is getting close to long drive competitor speed.
This is allowing him to avoide most trouble, and even if he finds the rough, he regularly just has a wedge in his hand. A wedge out of the rough from 75 yards out is always better (except in most US Open setups) than being 175 out with an 8 iron.
He’s become a pretty good putter for the most part, but has only notched a single top 25 at Augusta. His putting set up is very mechanical, whereas feel is critical on those greens.
He has played The Open Championship three times and only made one cut. This suggests his overall approach to the game can be problematic in the wind, when the game is played closer to the ground.
His back nine debacle in last week’s U.S. Open suggests the short game still leaves a bit to be desired.
DeChambeau vs. Koepka – Who Is The Better Golfer?
At this stage, I have to give the edge to Koepka. His game is more suited to major championship golf at the moment than DeChambeau’s. While both are bomb and gougers, Koepka has displayed some pretty good touch around the greens.
DeChambeau is clearly changing the way the game can be played, and I have to give him credit there. His trainer has stated that he wants to get even bigger to gain even more distance off the tee.
However, it does appear to me that the single length irons could be problematic with shots from 100 yards on in. I think he should consider changing his approach in that regard, especially if he wants to win at Augusta or over in the UK.
DeChambeau vs. Koepka – Who would win the fight?
While DeChambeau has 30 to 35 pounds on Koepka, I’d still go with Brooks. He just seems to have the mean streak necessary to win a street fight, whereas Bryson reminds me more of Dan Aykroyd’s character in Trading Places. He wouldn’t know what to do when get hit in the mouth.
Well, this was fun to write and I hope you enjoyed reading this post!
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