Chase cheering for big brother Brooks, even from afar

A month ago at Bethpage Black, Brooks Koepka won his second consecutive PGA Championship and his fourth career major. His younger brother Chase, back home in Florida, managed to watch the first 63 holes. He even followed some of the early-round action on his iPad while practicing on the driving range at his home club at Bear Lakes in West Palm Beach.

Alas, he missed the decisive back nine.

Headed to a European Challenge Tour event in the Czech Republic, Chase’s Miami-to-London flight that Sunday took off just as Brooks made the turn. Once over the Atlantic Ocean, the plane didn’t have WiFi capabilities, so Chase was agonizingly left in the dark while those dramatic nine holes played out.

“I was actually really upset,” Chase said. “I didn’t know he’d won. It took about 30 minutes from once I landed in London to get my phone charged and get some WiFi to see how he did.”

Chase found out by checking the PGA TOUR app on his smart phone, then added this tweet.

Imagine the frustration of missing your own brother make history. Chase, though, saw a silver lining.

“I was partly kind of happy I didn’t watch the last nine holes because I would have been worried on the plane,” Chase laughed. “I almost get more nervous watching Brooks play on TV than I do when I’m playing myself.

“Now I know how my parents feel when they’re watching me and my brother play all the time.”

Once Chase landed in London on his red-eye flight and saw the news, he called his brother.

It was 1 a.m. ET.

“He was up,” Chase said, “because he knew I was going to call. I texted him before the round, and said ‘I’m not going to be able to talk to you right after the round, I’ll call you at 1 a.m. when I land,’ and he said, ‘OK, I’ll make sure I answer’.”

Chase basically asked, ‘What happened, I didn’t see any of the back-nine shots?”

Brooks explained he hit it in the rough and couldn’t get out on holes 11-14, expressing disappointment in making four straight bogeys there.

In his winner’s press conference, Brooks said he didn’t remember the last time he made four straight bogeys.

Did his little brother remember anything like that from their younger days?

“I don’t know, I was in shock,” Chase said. “I told him how awesome (his win) was. For him it was more how relieved he was, because he was definitely like ‘I just needed to get done’ and we were just laughing about that.”

Not seeing his brother finish off a major victory is becoming something of a trend for the 25-year-old Chase, who is four years younger than Brooks.

Chase turned pro in 2016 and, like the early years of his brother’s career, is starting out in Europe. He initially played on the Challenge Tour, then made his European Tour debut last year but did not play well enough to keep his card for 2019. He’s now back on the Challenge Tour this season

Chase’s pursuit of his own golf dreams has come at a cost.

“Every single major Brooks has won,” Chase said, “I’ve had to fly out (to Europe) on that Sunday.”

During the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills, Chase watched with some family from home in West Palm Beach for 16 holes of that final round, yelling at the TV as Brooks got closer to his first major. He almost didn’t leave enough time to pack his suitcase and clubs for his trip to Copenhagen that evening, and eventually watched the final two holes at the airport.

Afterwards, the brothers FaceTimed minutes before Chase’s flight departed.

Chase watched the last four holes on a flight to Germany during last year’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills and enthusiastically posted on Instagram a photo from his airplane seat watching his brother on the screen holding the trophy.

For Brooks’ third major win at last year’s PGA Championship at Bellerive in St. Louis, many in the golf world thought Chase was on the 18th green to greet his brother. But it was actually Brooks‘ high school friend Dan Gambill, who played baseball and graduated with him.

“Dan kind of looks like me when he has Nike clothes on,” Chase laughed.

And yes, Chase was on another flight to Europe that Sunday.

“It sucks not being there, but Brooks knows I’m supporting him a 1000% all the time during the tournaments,” Chase said. “When I’m playing, I know he’s checking to see how I’m doing too.”

The brothers – who have twice been partners at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans -- talk via phone or text two to three times a week. Chase is taking his older brother’s advice to “play wherever you can play” pretty seriously as he travels from his home base in South Florida to the Challenge Tour for stints of four and five weeks at a time, finding Airbnb housing and affordable hotels with one of his former college teammates, Hasel Olsen.

The former University of South Florida standout knows he must prove himself to the golf world in his own right. That’s no easy task in today’s age when the back of your caddie’s bib reads, “Koepka.”

Does that create more pressure for Chase, considering his brother’s ever-increasing success?

“Do I feel it? Yeah, I just don’t try to worry about it too much,” Chase said. “It’s usually other people who are trying to put that pressure on. I don’t really put pressure on myself to do It because we’re totally different people.”

Chase also understands the rare air his brother has entered and doesn’t think comparisons are fair.

“It’s not easy to do what he’s done -- there are only four people in the history of golf who’ve won four out of eight majors,” Chase said. “It’s only Tiger, Jack, and Ben Hogan. So people try and compare me to him and there’s a lot of other people who haven’t done it, so I’m not too worried about that.”

Europe is where Chase has found status and his short-term goal is to make the top 15 on the Challenge Tour and earn his European Tour card back, then he’ll work towards qualifying for majors and WGC events if he’s playing well enough.

In the meantime, how much does watching Brooks win majors from overseas motivate Chase?

“A lot,” Chase said “I feel like all of his wins motivate me, but this one [at Bethpage Black] was really awesome to see how he dominated and to see where his game’s at.”

Chase saw a glimpse of Brooks’ recent form when they partnered at the Zurich Classic in April, finishing tied for 22nd. Brooks often dishes his little brother advice on his game, such as not sulking after bad rounds and to don’t be afraid to go past the hole on your approach shots.

While they rarely get a chance to play against each other now, Brooks and Chase did face off while growing up, intense competitors who would go one-on-one in sports such as basketball, ping-pong … and yes, golf.

So which brother gave the most trash-talk?

“Brooks by far,” Chase said. “He would always let me have it if I didn’t do something right or something perfect. But that’s what older brothers are supposed to do.”

Now the two continue to pursue golf dreams continents apart, and Chase certainly would like to be part of the major championship narrative.

“Hopefully one day I can get out there and hopefully play in these majors with him and hopefully be paired with him instead of watching from the sidelines.”

So now comes the big question: Will Chase be able to watch his older brother at this week’s U.S. Open at Pebble Beach?

Well, Chase currently is listed to play the Challenge Tour event at Lumbres, France, at a course not too far from the English Channel. He’s hoping to make his first Challenge Tour cut of the 2019 calendar year. If he does so, he’d be in France on Sunday, with Brooks possibly chasing an historic third straight U.S. Open win.

The time difference between Lumbres and Pebble Beach is nine hours. Chase plans to watch the live stream on his iPad and on television when he's at the course. That might mean some late-night viewing, but Chase won't mind -- particularly if Brooks wins a third straight U.S. Open on Sunday.