Brooks Koepka defies announcers, laws of gravity with escape shot

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Brooks Koepka does not shy from confrontation. Welcomes it, actually. The man is fuelled by slights, real or perceived, and the beast must be properly fed.

So we shouldn’t be surprised that Koepka had the audacity to defy a broadcast team – along with everything we know about the laws of gravity – with this remarkable escape shot at Riviera on Thursday morning.

Playing in the first round of the Genesis Invitational, Koepka sailed his drive on the par-4 second to the right, his ball settling into the kikuyu. Koepka was surrounded by trees in his approach, although there was a window towards the green. It was Koepka’s only shot, according to the PGA Tour Live announcing crew.

Only Koepka, sensing there was a great disturbance in his “I get no respect” force, decided to resist convention by going over the trees from 180 yards (160m) out.

A move that, we hope you’re sitting down, paid dividends:

Frankly, the bar for our Brooks misgivings is too low. Could he break par playing left-handed, or beat half the field using persimmons? I mean, it seems Rory McIlroy could pull that off …