Tag: claude harmon iii

Brandel Chamblee responds to Claude Harmon III calling him ‘a paid actor’ with epic social media takedown

“I’d like to think that they trust whatever opinion I have, whether it agrees with theirs or not.”

Brandel Chamblee took to social media to respond to criticism that he’s “a paid actor” for Golf Channel and NBC and is simply towing the company line.

Those comments were made by golf instructor and podcast host Claude Harmon III in a wide-ranging discussion on LIV and the PGA Tour and media coverage of the ongoing civil war in golf. Harmon is the instructor for Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka, who both reportedly accepted more than $100 million to defect to LIV Golf, the upstart golf entity backed by the Public Investment Fund which operates on behalf of the government of Saudi Arabia.

You can read Harmon’s full comments, first reported by Golfweek, here.

“The accusation that I am just a proxy for the opinion of my employer is a curious one to me, and while the natural back and forth with colleagues certainly informs my opinion, no one for whom I work with or for has ever tried to influence what I am going to say,” Chamblee wrote in a tweet he posted on Tuesday night. “I’d like to think that they trust whatever opinion I have, whether it agrees with theirs or not, I’ve done the research to back it up. Which is more than I can say for those who suggest that because there is evil everywhere, all evil is relativized and unless all of it can be addressed at the same time and in the same way, it should all be ignored.

“Especially, as in the case of the person who called me a paid actor, if they can somehow profit from the evil. This is where the debate crashes headfirst into the nexus of politics, sports and narcissistic greed. Where those who want to escape it most often cloy at whataboutisms, to stop the discussion with a pejorative accusation because they don’t want their motives to be discovered.”

Chamblee, who has been one of the most outspoken critics of LIV, volleyed back, emphasizing that LIV supporters have missed the larger point of sportswashing.

“To raise the question whether LIV has been good for the PGA Tour is to miss the very human and most important point of the whole issue of sportswashing. It is bad for the people who continue to be oppressed by the man who funds LIV Golf.”

Chamblee concluded his 538-word rebuttal/takedown of Harmon III by noting that there’s no window for the Michael Block’s of the world in the closed shop that is LIV and for a fairytale story like golf fans enjoyed last week. (He also noted it is about to become harder for the underdog story to emerge on the PGA Tour.)

“Dignity that was most profound in watching the play of Michael Block, the club professional who stole the show at the PGA Championship with his gratitude and joy and of course with his incredibly sharp game,” Chamblee wrote. “He was a stark reminder of what is missing in LIV Golf and even what will be missing in the PGA Tour’s no-cut, small-field, designated events next year.

“Because golf has always been and hopefully will always be, more about hope than heroes.”

[pickup_prop id=”33652″]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=none image=]

Brooks Koepka’s coach blasts media, bashes Brandel Chamblee for treatment of LIV Golf players

Claude Harmon III didn’t hold back with his thoughts on the LIV Golf vs. PGA Tour debate in this explosive interview.

Claude Harmon III will always be known first and foremost as “Butch’s son,” but he’s developing quite a resume of his own.

Harmon III, or CH3 to his friends, has coached some of the biggest names in golf and on Sunday he nabbed his eighth major as a swing instructor —the 2012 British Open with Ernie Els, five majors with Brooks Koepka (three PGA’s and two U.S. Opens) and two with Dustin Johnson (U.S. Open and Masters). Harmon is the Director of Instruction at Butch Harmon Floridian and runs the Claude Harmon III Performance Golf Academy in Dubai

He also has an interesting perspective of LIV Golf vs. PGA Tour as he dabbles in both worlds.

“I want LIV to succeed and I want LIV to work because I am pro-professional athlete,” he said. “I don’t think Rory McIlroy should go anywhere in the world without somebody paying him, including Memphis and Memorial. That’s how good he is. Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, if you’re in that category, you shouldn’t be going anywhere without being paid because it’s how good you are.”

Harmon saved some of his spiciest takes for the media — of which he also is a member having worked over the years for Sky Sports and as well as hosting his own podcast, “Son of a Butch,” including this on Brandel Chamblee and Golfweek’s own Eamon Lynch.

“Brandel is a paid actor by NBC and Golf Channel. All he’s trying to do is get his lines and shows for the Golf Channel. He’s just trying to get lines for Brandel … And I mean, I love him, I think Eamon is a fantastic writer, but for  Eamon Lynch and Brandel Chamblee, who worked for NBC Golf Channel to utter the words ‘sports washing’ when the company they work for televised the last two Winter Olympics in Russia and China with the same leaders that they’ve had. It’s not like they were good leaders back then. It’s not like Putin was a good guy, right?”

[pickup_prop id=”33652″]

Harmon III was just getting started. Here’s more from a pair of interviews he gave  — one just after Koepka teed off in the final round and the other after Koepka had claimed the Wanamaker Trophy for a third time. (Editor’s Note: This interview has been condensed for brevity.)

Brooks Koepka praises reunion with swing instructor Claude Harmon III as main reason for his run of form with LIV Golf

Harmon thinks Koepka is hitting the ball like its 2019 all over again, and Koepka agrees.

DORAL, Fla. — Brooks Koepka played his morning pro-am ahead of the LIV Golf Team Championship in Miami with former President of the United States Donald Trump on Thursday. But don’t get it twisted, despite playing with the club’s namesake at Trump National Doral’s Blue Monster, the four-time major champion didn’t get any helpful info to take back to his Smash GC teammates.

“He didn’t give me any tips. He’s not gonna give me any tips. He didn’t want me to beat him,” Koepka said of his round alongside the former president with a smile. “We had a great time. It’s always fun playing with him.”

Not that Koepka needs the help, anyways. Sure, he struggled early after joining the upstart circuit led by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, with finishes of T-16, T-11, T-26 and T-21 over his first four starts in the 48-player, no cut events. But when the series took the show to Bangkok, the old Koepka appeared on the course. The 32-year-old finished T-8 at the event in Thailand before winning the next week at the regular-season finale in Saudi Arabia via a three-hole playoff with teammate Peter Uihlein.

After splitting with longtime swing instructor Claude Harmon III, who began working with Koepka in 2013 when he was playing on the European Challenge Tour, two years ago following the November 2020 Masters, the pair are working together once again. Harmon told Golf Magazine he thinks Koepka is hitting the ball like its 2019 all over again, and Koepka agrees.

“I think we’ve seen it coming for a couple weeks,” Koepka said. “I think it was when we were in Bedminster, I called (Harmon) and he was on the range on Friday or Saturday. I started working with him there and it’s been, if we’re home four or five days a week I’ve just been bugging him to see if he’ll work with me every day. It’s come along really nicely. I’m very pleased. Very happy.”

“I’m just happy to be back,” Koepka continued. “There was always a question mark of, ‘Am I gonna be the same player?’ just because of all the injuries and all the different things. You start questioning whether you can do it and all of a sudden, it’s like all the pieces are starting to come back. Then you go out and win and it’s like, ‘Okay, I’ve still got the mental side of it. I’ve still got the physical side of it.’ So just put them all together every week and I’m just very happy.”

After this week’s event in Miami, the series will be on a break until it transitions into the LIV Golf League in 2023, with events likely to begin in February.

“Honestly, just keep doing the same thing I’ve been doing,” Koepka said of the four-month offseason, noting how he wants to get back in the gym. “But just keep playing golf. I think that’s one of the big things, I’ve been working with Claude and I’m very pleased and I don’t want it to get out of whack and just return to where it was.”

[vertical-gallery id=778304283]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Pat Perez rolls into TPC Scottsdale with back-to-back top-10s and an Arizona State-themed GT-R

Pat Perez is driving it better. And he’s driving in style.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Pat Perez is driving it better. And he’s driving in style.

The former Arizona State standout started the PGA Tour season with a missed cut, a withdrawal, and a T-44 before three straight missed cuts at Mayakoba, Houston and La Quinta.

That skid ended after back-to-back top-10 finishes: a T-6 at Torrey Pines and a T-9 at Pebble Beach. He’s back at it again this week, playing a “home game” in Scottsdale, although on a course where he’s seen limited success.

“I’ve never played well here so I don’t expect much,” Perez said Tuesday. This will mark his 21st appearance. Over the years, he has seven missed cuts, a disqualification, and a withdrawal. His best finish is a tie for 11th in 2014. After 16 consecutive appearances, he didn’t even play three years in a row (2018-20).

He says he mostly plays nearby Silverleaf but TPC Scottsdale is close enough for him drive. Tuesday, he got there in one of his favorites, a 2009 GT-R. He says after ordering it he waited nine months for delivery from Japan following a tsunami.

WM Phoenix Open 2022
A look through the hood of the car owned by PGA Tour golf Pat Perez, who played in college at Arizona State. (Photo: Todd Kelly/Golfweek)

Over the years, he’s invested heavily into the vehicle. The body is a dark gray carbonfiber. The hood has a see-through panel that shows off a maroon engine block with gold ASU pitchforks.

“I got about almost 400 into it,” he said, meaning $400,000. The hood was a no-brainer. “If I spend that much on the engine, might as well be able to see it.”

Tee times, TV info | PGA Tour Live streaming on ESPN+

Lightly driven for a 13-year-old car, “it’s only got 20,000 miles on it.

“But it’s been in the shop more than I’ve driven, getting it upgraded, making it as fast as I want.”

How fast?

“It can go up to 3,000 horsepower,” Perez said, “but that’s a little much.”

The souped-up GT-R isn’t the only motorized toy in his garage.

“I’ve got seven cars, four scooters, two quads, a can-am, just a bunch of stuff to drive around.”

Is the GT-R his favorite?

“It is. This and my Hummer,” he said. “I have a convertible H1 Hummer that I love. I’m going to bring that tomorrow. These are my two favorites to drive.”

Meanwhile, work on his golf swing continues, particular with the driver, which started getting better at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Farmers Insurance Open 2022
Pat Perez hits a tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the 2022 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego. (Photo: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports)

“I worked with Claude [Harmon III] a lot at Torrey. I just made some minor adjustments. I have to try to not hit it far. I shortened my swing. You gotta hit it far out here but the way I do it is wrong, so I have to change my action and try to hit it down and running,” Perez said. “Fortunately, the last couple of courses have been running fast so I can get it down and running and this (TPC Scottsdale) is no different so. I feel like if I can hit it straight here I should be able to play well.”

As for the short game, he said that’s dialed in.

“Putter’s been good. I didn’t make a lot of putts last week but yeah, chipping’s great, putting’s great.”

[listicle id=778234378]

[lawrence-related id=778247506,778247169,778247341]

Brooks Koepka splits with longtime coach Claude Harmon III

Brooks Koepka has parted ways with the swing instructor who helped guide him to four major championships and the top spot in the world rankings.

Brooks Koepka has parted ways with the swing instructor who helped guide him to four major championships and the top spot in the world rankings.

Claude Harmon III, who began working with Koepka in 2013 when the future superstar was playing on the European Challenge Tour, revealed the split to Golfweek on Monday. During an interview about his client Si Woo Kim’s victory at the American Express on Sunday, Harmon was asked about the form of Koepka, who missed the cut at the Amex by three strokes after rounds of 72-71.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “We are no longer working together.”

Harmon said the split came two months ago, three days after another client of his, world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, won the Masters.

[vertical-gallery id=778050819]

“I was informed on the Wednesday after the Masters that he wanted to go in a different direction,” the famed instructor said.

Koepka delivered the news face-to-face in a meeting at the Floridian Golf Club in Palm City, Fla., where Harmon is based.

Reached by text in California, Koepka confirmed the news to Golfweek.

“I love Claude, we had a great run and he’s still family to me, but unfortunately we’re not working together anymore,” Koepka said.

[lawrence-related id=778084331,778080989,778078583,778076323]

Bubba Watson hires his first coach — a ‘life coach’ — in Claude Harmon III

Bubba Watson confirms he’s working with swing instructor Claude Harmon III, but not in the traditional sense.

Bubba Watson, one of golf’s famously self-taught savants, claims he’s never taken a lesson.

“I never will take a lesson,” he once told The Wall Street Journal. “If I start playing bad golf, I’ll just have to find me a new job.”

Well, Watson, 41, seems to have had a change of heart. Watson was seen working with Claude Harmon III, son of Butch and instructor to Brooks Koepka, on the practice putting green after his third round of the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational on Saturday at TPC Southwind.

“I’m really good friends with Claude and Brooks and them, so my manager and Claude are really good friends. So my manager (Jens Beck) said, ‘Hey, you should definitely talk to him.’ And all it is is it’s about, ‘Hey, man, do you see anything that me and Teddy are missing?’ ” Watson explained. “There’s no range stuff, if that makes sense. I know people don’t understand that. I’m trying to score better. I feel like my physical part is there and how do you score better. That’s why I asked him.

“I call him my life coach is what I call him.”

Bubba Watson gets a putting lesson from instructor Claude Harmon III after Saturday’s third round of the WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational (Adam Schupak/Golfweek).

Sounds like it is simply a question of semantics. Watson finally has been seeking out a second set of eyes.

“He’s the one that said he saw something with putting, that I need to get back to my – when I first started golf, I always put my weight on my front foot, closed my stance, was over the ball more. Back in the old days. And so that’s what he’s thrown into the mix so far,” Watson said.

Watson shot 4-under 66 on Sunday, his best round of the week, including an outward 5-under 30, with four birdies in a row beginning at No. 6.

“I know when I ever do see (Claude) again, he’s definitely going to say, ‘See how good you putted?’ So I’m definitely going to hear that. But yeah, that’s it really. It’s nothing golf swing, I just want to see if there’s something I’m missing. I call him my scoring coach, my cheerleader, my life coach. I call him everything but a swing coach because I know how to hook it and I know how to cut it, so it’s not like I’m needing help that way, if that makes sense.”

[vertical-gallery id=778056652]

Brooks Koepka changes putting coach, rolls rock to career-low-tying 62 at WGC-FedEx St. Jude

Defending champion Brooks Koepka ties his career-best score with a 62 to take the first-round lead in Memphis.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Brooks Koepka showed up at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, practically the last place golf fans have witnessed his brand of brilliance, and suddenly rediscovered his game as if it were waiting for him in TPC Southwind’s lost and found.

There’s nothing like a hot putting round to make everything better. Koepka birdied the first four holes of his round, the longest streak of his career to begin a round, and barely slowed down en route to shooting an 8-under-par 62 at TPC Southwind for a two-stroke lead over Rickie Fowler and Brendon Todd.

“Everything seemed to click,” Koepka said. “It’s all just the work we’ve put in over the last three weeks of countless hours of beating balls and on the putting green.”

FedEx St. Jude: Leaderboard | Tee times | Best photos | Updates

Koepka hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since winning here a year ago, and entered the week ranked No. 155 in the FedEx Cup standing and in danger of missing the playoffs, which begin in three weeks. On Thursday, he picked up where he left off last year when he out-dueled Rory McIlroy in the final round and looked nothing like the golfer who took 32 putts and tossed his putter in frustration at one point as he lost more than five strokes to the field on the greens last week in the second round at the 3M Open.

“He putted as bad as I’ve ever seen him putt,” Koepka’s full-swing instructor, Claude Harmon III, said.

Over the weekend and on Monday, Koepka spent time with Harmon and teacher Pete Cowen and fixed his swing. But putting remained a bugaboo. Before the St. Jude got under way, Koepka brooded that his putting touch had abandoned him. He entered the week ranked 140th on Tour in Strokes Gained: putting this season. Koepka realized he was drawing the blade back inside, which made it difficult to release properly.

During a practice session on the putting green on Wednesday, Koepka asked Harmon if he thought it made sense to have Phil Kenyon, who specializes in putting instruction and whose students include Gary Woodland, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose, take a look at his stroke. Harmon supported the idea, which led Koepka to approach the wizard in the black arts of putting and say, “Listen, I’m struggling pretty bad and need your help. There’s a reason you’re the best out here.”

Kenyon made a series of adjustments which Koepka described: “You always know my ball sits off the toe, so that’s changed, it’s over the center –  over the line now. My heel is usually off the ground and it’s no longer off the ground. Just the way my left hand kind of works through the putting stroke has become a little bit different. It was kind of the same issue.”

Koepka practiced under the watchful eye of Kenyon for two hours after a rainstorm passed. It did wonders for Koepka on Thursday, although in typical Koepka fashion, he was none too surprised.

“My hand-eye coordination’s pretty good, so I figured it’d be all right,” he said. “My college coach did a drill with me I remember back in college, it doesn’t matter where you line up, whatever is, you can almost will it in just pretty much every time.”

If there’s a will, there’s a way and on Thursday, Koepka made quite an impression. He gained more than three strokes on the green, and ranked fourth-best in the field of 78. He reeled in four birdies out of the gate, beginning with a 9-foot birdie putt at the first and a 23-footer at the fourth. A bogey at the seventh when he missed the fairway to the right was his lone hiccup of the day, but he bounced back with birdies at Nos. 8 and 9 to make the turn in 5-under 30.

Koepka’s clean card on his second nine included an 18-foot birdie at the par-3 11th, a 7-footer at 13, and a two-putt birdie at the par-5 16th. Add it up and it marks the first 18-hole lead for Koepka since he won the PGA Championship last May.

“It feels good to be back to normal,” Koepka said.

How or why a golfer suddenly rediscovers a lethal putting stroke is an enduring mystery. Still to be seen is if Koepka can keep it going.

“One of the things Brooks always says is, ‘I’m not that far away,’ ” Harmon said. “It comes off a lot of times as him being super arrogant, but it’s not. He really believes in himself.”

[lawrence-related id=778057425,778057391,778056809]

Brooks Koepka recalls eagle putt on 15 at Masters: ‘I’m going to point at Tiger if I make this’

Brooks Koepka talks of a near miss for eagle at the 2019 Masters. He also discusses being hungover and, a dinner with Brandon Chamblee?

World No. 3 and four-time major champion Brooks Koepka, in a live Q-and-A broadcast Wednesday on Instagram handled by his swing coach Claude Harmon III, said he went 30 days without alcohol during his time away from the PGA Tour that’s been on hold due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

“It didn’t last 31,” Koepka said with a big laugh. “I feel great. I’m not going to lie, I’m hungover today, but it was good. I feel really good. My knee feels great.

“I haven’t felt this good in a long time.”

That was just the start of a lively 60 minutes, where Koepka was open, genuine, forthright and downright funny. For instance, he loves rap and if he was a rapper, he’d be Lil Wayne. He has a man crush on Adam Scott and gets excited every time he’s paired with the Aussie. And asked if he would go to dinner at the invitation of Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee, who has tussled on Twitter with Koepka’s father and offered some takes on Koepka that weren’t received well, two words was all he needed.

“Hell, no,” he said.

[jwplayer jRjdCdhJ-9JtFt04J]

Yes, Koepka doesn’t do PC and doesn’t shy from any question.

As for his day job, he isn’t playing much golf these days but hits the gym every day.

“I can’t wait,” to play again, Koepka said. “It’s weird to have this much time off. I just want to go hit balls. I just want to putt. I just want to get back into the swing. You miss being around the guys. You miss having conversations. You miss hearing stories and laughing with the guys.”

Of the many questions he fielded, one of his fans asked when did Koepka realize he was good enough to turn pro and make a living against the best in the world.

“I don’t think I ever knew,” he said. “I remember going over to the (European) Challenge Tour and being like, am I good enough? But then you get out there and you find your own way. You have to have a lot of self-belief. You might not be sure, but you have to convince yourself that you are going to make it. That’s a part of what separates the guys who make it and those who don’t make it.”

Koepka made it all right. He became the No. 1 player in the world. Won the U.S. Open in 2017 and 2018. Won the PGA Championship in 2018 and 2019. Is the first player to hold back-to-back titles in two different majors simultaneously.

Brooks Koepka putts on the 18th green during the first round of the 2019 Masters. Photo by Michael Madrid/USA TODAY Sports

But one major eluded him last April. Koepka tied for second, one shot behind Tiger Woods, in the Masters. Koepka had good looks for birdie on 17 and 18 that could have forced a playoff but missed both and Woods won his fifth Masters.

On Easter, Koepka went to his father’s house, and being the sports nut his father is, they watched the replay of the final round.

“It was funny. It was interesting,” to watch the replay, Koepka said. “I black out (when I’m playing). I can’t remember shots. I go into a completely different world in my head. It’s so different, the way things are remembered. I don’t have a photographic memory. Did I miss on the low side, did I miss on the high side. Everything goes so quickly for me.”

And then the replay went to the back nine.

“I watch my tee shot on 12 go into the water,” Koepka said. “I think what people don’t realize was that I was two back of Fran (Molinari), so I still had to make a move. You’re never aiming for that pin. I stepped in and I felt the wind and it was completely different than it was two seconds before that. I backed off and I remember thinking it needs to be flighted a little bit more. And I thought I did it. I hit a great shot. I wouldn’t take it back. In the air I was loving it. I was licking my chops. I’m going to make birdie here. Dude, this is going to be great. I know that they’re all watching. And it did not pitch on the green.

“There were a few curse words walking down to the drop area. I dropped the ball, chipped it up to 6 feet or whatever it was and I really remember Ricky (Elliott, his caddie) saying to me, ‘You make this, we still have a chance.’ Sure enough I eagled the next hole.”

Then Koepka talked about the 15th hole where he faced another eagle putt.

“I remember I convinced Ricky before I hit it was I was going to make the putt. There are times every once in a while where you don’t have to say anything to him. I won’t discuss the putt (with him). He’s such a bad reader of greens anyway. The guy can’t read a putt. He can’t. And he’s a great putter, that’s the funny part.

“But I remember saying to him, ‘I’m going to point at Tiger if I make this thing.’ And I, still to this day, cannot believe that putt missed.”

[opinary poll=”what-are-doing-with-your-free-time-these-DPSNt1″ customer=”golfweek”]

[lawrence-related id=778036092,778032371,778032295]