As Phil Mickelson basked in major glory for a sixth time, a disappointed Brooks Koepka, fresh off a closing 74 and co-runner-up finish with Louis Oosthuizen, fielded questions from the media.
“I’m not happy,” Koepka said. “I don’t know if there’s a right word I can say on here without getting fined, but it hurts a little bit.”
That wasn’t the only thing hurting. As Mickelson and Koepka fought their way through a swarming crowd that had pushed passed security and formed a massive mob in the 18th fairway and around the final green, Koepka said his surgically repaired right knee got “dinged a few times” by people in the crowd.
“No one really gave a s---, personally,” said Koepka, who added that his caddie, Ricky Elliot, got “drilled in the face.”
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“I don’t think anybody really understands,” he continued, “There’s five people kind of standing by your knee, you get a little skittish. Like I don’t mind waiting or being in that crowd but getting my -- I don’t know, it felt like somebody tried to, I don’t know what the deal was, but it’s what it is. Be putting it in ice today. It feels like s--- right now.”
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story reported that Koepka was referencing Rickie Fowler when he was actually talking about caddie Ricky Elliot.