He had just missed a birdie putt that brought an end to one of the most memorable playoffs the PGA Tour has seen in recent years, and understandably, he wanted to get away. From everyone. The roars for Patrick Cantlay, the winner of the BMW Championship, were still ringing out as DeChambeau ducked into the tunnel that cuts beneath the 18th hole grandstands. DeChambeau handed his hat to a gleeful adolescent fan standing at the rope line, then began a furious but silent walk up the steep hill that winds its way toward the Caves Valley clubhouse.
Halfway up the hill, something happened that made me feel like we’ve arrived at a miserable place in the never-ending circus that is DeChambeau. A patron waited until DeChambeau had walked by, but was not out of earshot, then sneered from over the rope line “Great job Brooksie!” DeChambeau spun around in a rage and began briefly walking in his direction.
“You know what? Get the f— out!” DeChambeau yelled. He had rage in his eyes.
I’m being dead serious when I say it could have gotten ugly really fast. Maybe not “Malice At The Palace” bad, but in that moment, nothing would’ve surprised me. A rope line is little more than a polite suggestion when it comes to security a golf tournament. DeChambeau had been hearing, and ignoring, that kind of taunt all week. But everyone has their breaking point.
Thankfully DeChambeau paused, angrily motioning for a police officer to handle the heckler, then continued his march up the hill. The entire exchange took less than 10 seconds. The PGA Tour declined comment when asked about the incident by ESPN. But we’ve been building to something like this all summer. And I don’t know what the end game is.
The feud between DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka felt playful when it started, a harmless distraction in a time when we needed one. Besides, shouldn’t golf try to be less stuffy? Athletes in other sports trade barbs all the time. Why should this be different? That’s how I viewed it. If DeChambeau couldn’t ignore the fans taking Koepka’s side, wasn’t that a sign of weakness? Shouldn’t he shut them up with his clubs?
It’s obvious who won, though, even if DeChambeau has won more money and more tournaments than Koepka this season. Koepka no longer even needs to participate to keep the feud going. (Koepka told me he agreed to pause it, at least for now, at the request of Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker.) There is still an army of trolls eager to needle DeChambeau, and Koepka probably couldn’t call them off, even if he wanted to. It plays out almost like a Twitter harassment campaign with the trolls insisting they aren’t crossing any line, they’re just shouting “Brooksie!” because they want to support their favorite player — knowing full well it gets under DeChambeau’s skin.
Can you really boot someone from a professional sporting even for shouting a player’s name at a player who doesn’t like it? When does heckling cross a line and morph into bullying? And can you really bully a professional athlete who is built like a bull? It’s a surreal ethical dilemma.
If you’re not a golf fan, I suspect you find all this utterly perplexing, but golf is going to have to come up with an answer at some point because it’s not going away. The NBC broadcast team repeatedly implied the “Brooksie!” chants weren’t much of an issue throughout the weekend, that fans were mostly supportive of DeChambeau. But anyone who walked with DeChambeau at Caves Valley could tell you that was — to be generous — grossly misleading. I heard it dozens of times while walking with him and Cantlay during the six-hole playoff. DeChambeau had plenty of fans, sure, but he also had plenty of people openly rooting for him to hit the ball in the water. A huge contingent of the crowd was chanting “Patty! Pattt! Patty” for Cantaly, and roaring with glee when DeChambeau’s drive found the creek during the playoff.
I won’t tell anyone they should root for DeChambeau, or change their mind. He’s earned a lot of the criticism thrown his way. But I do think we’re losing the plot a bit, overlooking how compelling he is as a golfer, even if he can’t seem to resist saying foolish things. He isn’t as thoughtful behind the microphone as Rory McIlroy or Jon Rahm — few athletes are. He just shot the lowest score in PGA Tour history by someone who didn’t win a golf tournament, an absolute showcase for a city that hasn’t had a PGA Tour event in 60 years. And yet he seems on the verge of a meltdown because he can’t tune out the people who delight in mocking him. In an era where we are encouraging athletes to talk about their mental health, is it still OK to openly ridicule DeChambeau simply because he comes across as less likeable?
If certain aspects of golf have tried to mirror professional wrestling, with the PGA Tour awarding $40 million as part of its Player Impact Program that is based partially on fan engagement, then DeChambeau was never meant to play the heel. It’s not in his DNA. People who interact with him regularly have told me that, deep down, what he wants is to be loved. To be embraced. He can’t seem to grasp why he often isn’t, despite so much success.
Five years ago, when DeChambeau was about to turn professional, I sent him an email, inquiring whether he might be willing to sit down for an interview about his desire to be an agent of change in the often-stagnant world of golf. His outspoken aspiration, even as a college student, to evolve the way we view equipment and science and putting seemed like a great story.
He wrote back almost right way. His response, as I recall, was both polite and earnest. DeChambeau invited me to come to California and spend time with him and his family. He was an open book, excited to share his theories on where he saw the sport going. We couldn’t get our schedules aligned, and sadly never made it happen, but lately I’ve been thinking about the kid DeChambeau was back then, still mostly unknown, yet so hungry and eager to share his passion for the game.
A lot of that earnestness remains, but some of it has been chipped away, and his resentments have hardened. It would be fun if everyone — DeChambeau included — could push a reset button, because it’s fascinating to watch him play golf. Even the athletes who annoy us deserve a little empathy. Whether he deserves it or not, it would be nice to extend him some.
Members of the Professional Hockey Players’ Association are on the verge of staging a strike in the ECHL if the union and the league cannot come to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement.
The PHPA announced Monday that its ECHL membership has served a strike notice that would be effective Friday, when play is scheduled to resume following the holiday break. Players voted Friday to authorize their bargaining committee to call for a strike, executive director Brian Ramsay said Monday.
“Our members have made it very clear that they’ve had enough,” Ramsay said on a video call with reporters. “Unfortunately, this is a league that would rather bully us than bargain.”
The sides appeared no closer to a resolution Tuesday based on an update from Ramsay, even after he said the PHPA offered the option of reaching a settlement through mediation or arbitration.
“The ECHL responded within minutes, rejecting any interest in this solution and demanding ‘significant movement’ and concessions from the players,” Ramsay said in a released statement. “This approach continues to align with the increased threats our membership has faced over the past 18 hours.”
CBA talks began in January, with Ramsay accusing the league of unfair bargaining practices, including most recently contacting players directly with proposals, which have been reported to the National Labor Relations Board.
“This is a league that has taken almost a year to concede that we should be entitled to choose helmets that properly fit us and are safe,” Ramsay said. “This is the league that still supplies our members with used equipment. This is a league that shows no concern for players’ travels and in fact has said the nine-hour bus trip home should be considered your day off. We have had members this year spend 28 hours-plus on a bus to play back-to-back games on a Friday and Saturday night, only to be paid less than the referees who work those very same games.”
The ECHL posted details of its latest proposal on its website Monday, saying it calls to raise the salary cap 16.4% this season, with retroactive pay upon ratification, and increases in total player salaries in future years to pay players nearly 27% more than the current cap. The league said it has also offered larger per diems, mandatory day-off requirements and a 325-mile limit for travel between back-to-back games.
“Our approach will continue to balance the need to best support our players and maintain a sustainable business model that helps ensure the long-term success of our league so it remains affordable and accessible to fans,” the ECHL said, adding that the average ticket price is $21. “Negotiations have been progressing but not as quickly as we would like.
“We have reached a number of tentative agreements and remain focused on reaching a comprehensive new agreement that supports our players and the long-term health of every team in our league.”
Taking issue with the ECHL’s offer numbers, Ramsay said inflation would have players making less than the equivalent amount in 2018, prior to the pandemic. The league said a work stoppage would result in some games being postponed and players not being paid and losing housing and medical benefits that it pays for.
Ramsay called threats of players losing their housing if there’s a strike an unfair labor practice in itself.
“Consistently in the last six or eight weeks, teams trying to intimidate and bully our members, threaten our members with their jobs, with their housing, with their work visas if they’re from out of country — different tactics like that,” Ramsay said.
Jimmy Mazza, who played several seasons in the ECHL and is now on the negotiating committee, argued that owners do not know what it’s like to travel 29 hours in a bus or to be given a used helmet.
“The top level, you know that those players aren’t being treated that way, so why are they treating us that way?” Mazza said. “To us, it’s a little bit of a slap in the face with the way these negotiations have gone for a year, when only five days ago, we get a little bit of movement on a helmet issue when it should have been done a year ago.”
The ECHL, formerly known as the East Coast Hockey League and now going just by the acronym, is a North American developmental league that is two levels below the NHL, with the American Hockey League in between. There are 30 teams, 29 of which are in the U.S. and one in Canada in Trois-Rivières, Quebec.
The AHL and PHPA have been working under the terms of their most recent CBA, which expired Aug. 31. An AHL spokesperson said the sides are very close to a new agreement.
The NHL and the NHL Players’ Association earlier this year ratified a deal that ensures labor peace through 2030.
TORONTO — Max Domi scored the winner with 8:25 remaining to snap a 23-game goalless streak and added an assist to end the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ three-game slide with a 6-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.
Domi danced around Pittsburgh newcomer Brett Kulak for the deciding goal, a few hours after Toronto general manager Brad Treliving gave coach Craig Berube a vote of confidence for the second time this season.
“I support Craig fully. When you go through rough stretches, that’s part of the business,” he said. “There isn’t a disconnect. We all need to be better, we all recognize that, but I think we got a really good coach.”
Treliving spoke a day after the club fired assistant coach Marc Savard following two losses in two days over the weekend.
“The players have responsibility and this doesn’t absolve anybody. This is not we throw somebody out and blame that person,” he said. “It’s a change that we could make to change the dynamic, change maybe a little bit of the play.”
Nylander scored the icebreaker for his first in 11 games, midway through the first period. But Rust drew the Penguins even 44 seconds later, getting behind Nicolas Roy and Chris Tanev for a successful breakaway.
Tanev returned after a 23-game absence. He was stretchered off the ice after a collision on Nov. 1 in Philadelphia.
Toronto fired 31 shots on goal while the Penguins registered 32, with Joseph Woll picking up his sixth win in 11 starts. Pittsburgh goalie Stuart Skinner has yet to win in three starts, with 12 goals against since being traded by the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 15.
Savard steered the Maple Leafs to the NHL’s worst power play (12 for 90 with four short-handed goals against), and on Tuesday, Toronto went 0 for 2 against Pittsburgh. Assistant coach Derek Lalonde has been tasked with fixing the team’s power-play struggles.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Running back Mark Fletcher Jr. is coming back to Miami next season, saying Tuesday that he plans to postpone his NFL plans for one more year.
Fletcher made the news official just a few days after the best game of his college career – a 172-yard rushing effort that helped No. 10 Miami top No. 7 Texas A&M 10-3 in the opening round of the College Football Playoff.
The Hurricanes (11-2) play No. 2 Ohio State (12-1) on New Year’s Eve in the CFP quarterfinals.
“Yeah, it’s true. I’m coming back another year,” Fletcher said. “I have another year. You know, I’m a true junior. Another year guaranteed.
“I love this team. I love this organization. I love this culture. And I just want to spend more time with my brothers while I can.”
Fletcher has rushed for 84 or more yards eight times in his Miami career, six of those games coming this season — including four of his six 100-yard efforts.
“We were just excited to help Mark Fletcher do his thing,” offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa said Tuesday, when asked about Fletcher’s numbers at Texas A&M. “You see him — he’s a bad guy out there.”
Fletcher — who has career-bests of 857 yards and 10 touchdowns this season — started the year 39th on Miami’s all-time rushing list. He’s now 13th, having passed passing Alonzo Highsmith, Leonard Conley, Lamar Miller, Tyrone Moss, Stephen McGuire and Frank Gore last weekend alone.
He’s up to 1,978 yards in his career, 22 yards shy of becoming the 11th 2,000-yard rusher in Miami history. And more impressive than his stats last weekend, at least to Miami coaches, was the way he helped calm freshman Malachi Toney down after a fourth-quarter fumble. On the next possession, after Fletcher helped get Miami down the field, Toney wound up scoring what became the winning touchdown.
“He played like a man possessed,” Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said of Fletcher. “And we needed it. We needed his leadership in a lot of ways on the sideline and his calmness. And I don’t think you can say enough about Mark as a human being and as a player. What a leader. Just a special person.”
