Brooks Koepka recently took a small shot at Rory McIlroy while talking about the kind of irons he warmed up with.
Koepka and McIlroy are two of the finest golfers of our era and both are competing in the prestigious tournament that is taking place at the Augusta National Golf Course.
The American went on the Pardon My Take podcast to discuss the Masters tournament and his preparation. Koepka revealed that he typically only warmed up with odd-numbered irons, so his 3-iron, 5-iron, and etc.
Koepka then went on to mention McIlroy, saying that he warmed up using "even clubs". The 33-year-old was referring to the fact that the Northern Irishman had four Majors while he had five.
“I would say yeah, probably. Guys probably do the same thing. Maybe not the odd clubs, they might go even. Rory’s probably even. You know, four is even. Five is odd, so yeah," Koepka said as quoted by New York Post.
This earned some laughter from the podcast hosts.
Koepka and McIlroy have been on opposite sides of the sport since the former left for LIV Golf. McIlroy spent a lot of time championing the PGA Tour and defending it against those who left.
He's since toned down his stance and is more welcome to it than ever before. When he first made comments along those lines, Koepka tweeted a meme that implied he was referring to McIlroy's comments.
There won't be much added drama for this, though. McIlroy and Koepka aren't in the same tee groupings and likely won't be up close and personal throughout the week, though this situation is probably more for laughs than any serious conflict between the two.
Will Brooks Koepka or Rory McIlroy win the Masters?
The odds suggest that a title is very much within reach for Rory McIlroy. He is currently +1000 according to Vegas Insider. That's second-best behind only Scottie Scheffler, giving him a great chance to finally earn a green jacket.
That would mean that everyone else has a worse chance in that line of thinking, but Brooks Koepka has good odds himself. He's among the top 10 and has +2000 odds to take home another green jacket.
The tournaments in golf almost never follow the odds, though. McIlroy could stumble as he has recently at Augusta National and not do well at all. Koepka could follow suit.
Even if both play their best golf, it might not be enough. The field is so talented that someone's best game might not be good enough for a high placement. There are also those golfers that come in and surprise everyone with their incredible performances, so it's hard to predict which one will win.
Nevertheless, Rory McIlroy has more favorable odds than Brooks Koepka, and there's arguably much more at stake for the Irishman, too.
