AUGUSTA, Ga. – It was a trip of a lifetime for Brooks Koepka when his father brought him to Augusta National as a youngster to attend the Masters.
Koepka remembers walking down the first fairway and getting blown away by the elevation changes and being able to stand so close to players. And the autographs, he collected so many autographs. Except one.
Koepka said he was standing by the old Tournament practice area and asked Phil Mickelson for an autograph.
“Probably about the only kid Phil’s ever turned down,” Koepka said with a smile on Tuesday at Augusta National.
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Koepka said he mentioned the moment to Mickelson during a practice round in 2014 and that Lefty didn’t remember the incident.
“I mean, I can’t believe he doesn’t remember the first time he ever said no to a kid, signing an autograph,” he said with a laugh. “I was like, ‘Listen, man, you stiffed me, and I really didn’t like you for a long time.’ He was typical Phil, right back at me; I shouldn’t have been there. We can laugh about it now. I’ve got his autograph now.”
Koepka said he collected about 50 autographs during that trip, just not Mickelson’s or Tiger Woods.
“Everybody else, I pretty much got,” he said. “All the players, when we come here, they are all so nice. As a player now, you want to sign for a little kid. It’s hard to say no to a little kid.”
Source: Internet
