Koepka has chosen to not sign a club deal since Nike exited the equipment manufacturing business GETTY IMAGES
Brooks Koepka's win at the PGA Championship marked his fourth major championship victory in two years, all of which have come without an equipment deal, making it fair to wonder "how much more" money he could be making with one in place, according to Jonathan Wall of GOLF.com. Since Nike exited the golf equipment manufacturing business, nearly every high-profile former Nike equipment staffer "has signed on elsewhere." Only Koepka, Paul Casey and Tommy Fleetwood have "elected not to sign a full-bag staff deal elsewhere." Of the three, Koepka "stands to make the most." But instead of "cashing in on his success, Koepka and his team have refrained from signing a lucrative club and/or ball deal." Koepka’s asking price has "gone up exponentially over the last few years and continues to rise with each major victory." A source said of Koepka's value: "It's probably a stupid number for a four-time major winner -- somewhere in the $3 to $7 million range per year without the hat. That’s based on just his playing resume." Koepka currently "has four brands" in the bag: TaylorMade, Nike, Mizuno and Titleist. With four major wins with "essentially the same setup, it’s unlikely he’d want to deviate from the current plan" (GOLF.com, 5/19).
CENTER OF ATTENTION: Golf Channel's Rich Lerner said Koepka is "squarely in the spotlight, and the temptation will be there to make some changes, maybe grab a bigger piece of the endorsement pie, a bigger slice of fame." These days it "seems it's not entirely good enough to just win." Lerner: "If you haven't been branded or given a scripted ad agency sheen, you're dull, and Koepka seems to be openly wrestling with it right in front of us." There are "plenty of likable guys doing plenty of commercials, (but there has been) no one crushing the sport, until now" ("Morning Drive," Golf Channel, 5/20).
ROCK SOLID: In Toronto, Cathal Kelly writes for any athlete to be a marketable superstar, they "need to fit a type," and so far Koepka has been the "strong and silent guy, except stronger and even more silent." He has "described himself as 'tunnel-visioned,' and then 'flatlined.'" If athletes "say things like that," they have to "prove it." In his "weird way," Koepka used yesterday's "media glare to do so." It is fair to "applaud Koepka’s victory," but the "even better performance may have been the way in which Koepka used these few hours of focused attention to leverage his brand in the public mind" (GLOBE & MAIL, 5/20). On Long Island, Mark Herrmann writes maybe Koepka's "stumbles down the stretch" yesterday -- his final-round 74 at one point saw his seven-stroke lead shrink to just one -- will "help by making him more of a sympathetic figure" (NEWSDAY, 5/20).
THE NEXT BIG THING: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Brian Costa writes after Koepka's "resounding, repeat victory," his place in the sport is "impossible to ignore" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5/20). In West Palm Beach, Tom D'Angelo writes the victory "continues his meteoric rise and is now placing his name among golf’s royalty" (PALM BEACH POST, 5/20). In Chicago, Barry Rozner writes under the header, "Is Koepka The Next Tiger Woods?" Golf has been "trying to find" the next Woods for 20 years, but that "hasn't stopped Brooks Koepka from doing a decent impression of the GOAT" (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 5/20). In N.Y., George Willis writes regardless of Woods' Masters victory last month, there is a "new king of golf and it doesn’t look like he’ll be going away anytime soon." He "might not have the charisma of Tiger Woods, the public appeal of Phil Mickelson or the charm of Jordan Spieth, but Koepka deserves our attention and our respect" (N.Y. POST, 5/20).
LIKE A MACHINE: USA TODAY's Christine Brennan wrote Koepka is "going to be around for a very long time" and fans are "going to have to get used to seeing this calm, confident, uber-talented golfer dominate his game" (USATODAY.com, 5/19). In Minneapolis, Jim Souhan notes Koepka has "taken heat for occasional combativeness, for being less than charismatic, but he spent the week playing dominant golf and giving straight answers" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 5/20). GOLF.com's Alan Shipnuck writes Koepka "may never enjoy the widespread love he deserves, but really, it’s better this way." He is the "perfect anti-hero for these superficial times." Koepka’s contemporaries "turn every vacation into a social-media event and prostitute themselves in the equipment marketplace to the highest bidder at the expense of their performance." Koepka has "no club contract and no Twitter game." He is a "monument to substance over style" (GOLF.com, 5/20).
