Brooks Koepka began the year by dealing with the fallout over a purposeful 20-plus pound weight loss.
Koepka wanted to appear lean and buff for PG-rated photos of him in the buff taken for 2019 ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue.
Portions of the Body Issue were posted online Wednesday. The final print version of the Body Issue will hit newsstands Friday. ESPN has announced that the magazine will cease publication this year.
A total of 17 different past and present athletes, or groups of athletes, bore all for the 2019 Body Issue. Among the au naturel jocks joining Koepka are five members of the Philadelphia Eagles offensive line, soccer star Kelley O’Hara and Chris Paul of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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A dozen still images and videos of Koepka are featured, including one of him in a full-sized The Body Issue Robe awaiting to hit a tee shot. The photos were taken early in 2019 at Palm City, Fla., by Rob Daly.
“I’ve always wanted to do it. I thought it would be so cool. I think the reason they’re asking me is because you’ve been so successful in your field of work. That’s an honor,” he said in a video accompanying the images.
The full portfolio of the images were published two weeks after Koepka shared images of his photo shoot on social media.
The criticism of Koepka’s weight loss, rumored to be 24 pounds, proved misguided. Koepka won the PGA Championship, finished runner-up in the U.S. Open and Masters, and closed out he 2018-19 PGA Tour season with PGA of America Player of the Year honors.
And there’s more hardware expected in the near future.
He also pocketed $3.5 million in FedEx Cup bonus money, $2 million for winning the PGA Tour regular-season points title, another $1 million for winning the AON Challenge and finished the 2018-19 PGA Tour season with $9,684,006 in official earnings.
Perhaps BK ought to bare it all every year.
