Brooks Koepka stood outside Wellington Regional Medical Center in South Florida for 90 minutes Friday meeting health care workers and posing for selfies while providing lunch for those on the front line in the battle against COVID-19.
That was the easy part. The difficult part was figuring out how to greet them.
“When you go to meet somebody, you want to put your hand out, but then you’re like not sure if we should do the elbow.” Koepka said about proper social distancing greetings during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I still don’t know what to do. But then you go ‘hey.’ I just make it awkward from the beginning then it’s all over with.”
Even under his blue mask, it was obvious Koepka was smiling.
And it was those smiles that were contagious Friday, even if not obvious while being obscured by facemasks.
The coronavirus pandemic may have forced Koepka to take a month off from golf – a blessing considering it allowed time to rest a balky left knee that hindered his game before the season was shut down in early March – but the Jupiter resident has not forgotten those on the front lines.
Koepka, 30, provided lunch Friday for health care workers at the medical center located a couple of miles from where he was raised in Wellington, and at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, about five miles from his high school, Cardinal Newman.
His foundation has given $100,000 to COVID-19 relief funds through the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties, a number that was matched by one of his sponsors, Michelob Ultra. He also donated $100,000 Sunday during “The Match: Champions for Charity” that featured Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.
“It’s nice to be able to give back to the community where I grew up,” Koepka said as more than 100 health care workers at Wellington Regional picked up lunch from food trucks. “It’s fun. I haven’t forgotten where I came from. These guys are doing an incredible job. They’re just so busy. Everything they’re doing, they’re sacrificing their time, time with their families, just to be at the hospital and deal with so much. It’s the least we could do.”
The four-time majors champion and former Florida State standout spent time with some familiar faces and plenty of fans, including Wellington mayor Anne Gerwig, who is both. Gerwig was Koepka’s first-grade homeroom mom at Wellington Christian School. “It’s just a great feeling to know he still feels that way about us,” she said. “We are so proud of him.”
Koepka satisfied every request for pictures and autographs, even the one from Cathie Lessard, Wellington Regional’s intensive care clinical manager, who was shaking so badly when she attempted to take a selfie that Brooks offered to take the picture. “I’m still shaking,” she said several minutes later.
Golf returns June 11 from this global timeout with the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas. Koepka plans to play in the first three tournaments of the restart, including the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, S.C., June 18-21 and the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Conn. June 25-28.
Koepka kept sharp for two weeks following the season’s suspension and then put away the sticks for about a month. He’s been back at it for the last month.
While Koepka has proven nothing bothers him on the course, especially in majors, of which he’s won four of the last 10 he has entered and was runner-up twice, he also took that attitude into the layoff.
“I don’t think anything has really been challenging,” he said about waiting out the pandemic. “I get to spend more time with my family, time at home I would never get to spend and be around loved ones. I try to spin everything positive. You can look at it negatively, but I’ve just never been that person.”
One challenge, for all Tour players, will be the new guidelines that include everything from testing to safety protocols to social distancing. The plan is to play the first four events without spectators.
Koepka does not see a problem with most rules, saying it “will be a little bit of a change for everybody. No fans is going to be weird. A lot less people. At the same time, if we want to get back to playing golf, it’s what we got to do.”
But that goes so far. As far as players being encouraged to partake in social distancing from their caddies … that’s where Koepka draws the line.
For Koepka, Rickie Elliott is like a brother.
“There’s going to be no social distancing,” he said between him and Elliott. “My caddie’s been at my house. We’ve practiced together. … I’ve been around him, been next to him, done everything.
“Listen, that’s my guy, he’s going to be right there next to me.”
Koepka recently spent 47 weeks atop the World Golf Rankings. He currently is No. 3 behind Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm. His run came to an end in February after a rough start to the season, mostly due to his knee, on which he underwent a stem cell procedure for a partially torn patella tendon in September. He entered five events before play was halted, missing the cut twice, withdrawing once and finished 43rd and 47th. The low point came when he carded a 9-over 81 during the third round at Bay Hill in March, the highest score of his PGA Tour career.
“I got three months of rehab on it I wouldn’t have had,” he said. “It’s been good.“
Tom D’Angelo is a staff writer and columnist for the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network. Email him at tom_dangelo@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at @tomdangelo44.
