Self love is all the rage right now, even in professional golf. Look no further than Thursday at the Shriners Children's Open, where Cameron Champ, after shooting a first-round 63, said part of the reason he's played better of late is because he's "loving himself out there." Clearly, it's working for him.
But a little bit of self hate can go a long ways, too. Golf is a game ripe for self hate, as everything that happens is completely on you. Some of the best players in the world have to give themselves a stern talking to sometimes. Players like Brooks Koepka, who dropped an all-time self-deprecating line on Thursday at LIV Jeddah.
Koepka, sitting at three under and just two off the lead at the time, was hitting his second from a greenside bunker at the short par-4 17th at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club. It was the type of situation where an up-and-down birdie is almsot assumed for a player of his caliber, and anything less is giving away shots to the field. That's exactly what Koepka did, fatting the sand shot about 30 feet short and missing a ridge that would have fed his ball to the hole. "Oh you F---ING dumbass," Koepka could be heard saying on a hot mic:
Who among us hasn't said the exact same thing after a shot like this? Sometimes there is nothing else to say. Self love is certainly important, but counter-balancing it with some self hate isn't a bad idea either.
And guess what? It must have worked, because after saving par hear Koepka stole one last birdie on his final hole to post four under, putting him one behind the lead of Marc Leishman.
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