IF it had not been for a terrifying road crash, Brooks Koepka could have been a baseball star instead of the worlds best golfer.
As a ten-year-old he was sitting in a car with his babysitter when another vehicle hurtled into the side of them at an intersection.
Koepkas nose was shattered in the crash and he was warned off all contact sports including his big love baseball.
Batters are often struck by fast balls and involved in collisions while running to bases.
Koepka used to dream of following in the footsteps of his uncle, Hall of Fame star Dick Groat, who won the 1960 World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates and again in 1964 with St Louis Cardinals.
Koepkas dad, Bob, was a also a highly-rated pitcher for his college team, and his son clearly inherited the family passion for the sport.
But during his time away from his favourite sport, Koepka caught the golf bug, playing practically every day at Okeeheelee Golf Club, a public course near his home in West Palm Beach, Florida.
And instead of hitting Major League pitchers out of the park, he discovered he had a natural talent for sending pitching wedges arrowing towards the target.
When he was just 13, he ended his dads five-year club championship streak at Sherbrooke Golf and Country Club in Lake Worth, by beating him in the final.
If I could do it over again, Id play baseball 100 per cent. No doubt.
Brooks Koepka on baseball vs golf
Yet despite winning four of his last nine Majors and distancing himself from the pack as world No1, Koepka, 29, still regrets not getting the chance to follow his childhood dream.
He said: If I could do it over again, Id play baseball 100 per cent. No doubt.
Another life-shaping experience came when His mum, Denise, was diagnosed with breast cancer. He said watching her win that battle taught him a lot.
Koepka added: It made me figure out that life can go pretty quickly, so enjoy it. Make people laugh, make the best of things. Maybe not take things too seriously.
That attitude is not exactly obvious, on or off the course.
But the man who has not finished outside the top two in the last four Majors insists he is only serious about getting the job done.
And he said that fun-loving approach was also behind his decision to hire Ricky Elliott as his caddie six years ago.
LAID-BACK RICKY
He said: With Ricky I called him and we had about a 30-minute phone conversation. I liked the way he went about things.
"He was kind of light. He was joking on the phone.
And I thought thats somebody I want. I want somebody thats not going to be so focused in all the time.
"My personality is that I like to laugh and joke on the golf course I know it doesnt look like it, but the camera is not on us all the time.
Rickys like me, in that hes pretty laid back.
The USPGA in 2013 was the first time he ever caddied for me. And I think the way he went about things was different than any one Id had.
The confidence behind what he thought the club might be, the wind direction or what the yardage was, he was dead sure of it.
Plus he just knew the right things to say at the right time, and I think thats what makes a great caddie.
That was the first time I ever played with Tiger on Sunday. And Ricky was able to kind of help me through that. The way we went about that I thought was super impressive.
Thats kind of when I was, like All right, this is my guy. And then hopefully he doesnt leave me. But hes not going to leave me for a long time.
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