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Koepka: Seeing honesty in NBA helped unlock the 'real me'

Mike Stobe / Getty Images Sport / Getty

It seems Brooks Koepka's meeting with NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo encouraged the three-time major champion to be true to himself.

Koepka has recently called out PGA rules officials, said slow play was "embarrassing," and described Sergio Garcia as a "child." And he apparently plans to continue speaking his mind.

"I mean, you're actually probably getting the real me now," Koepka said, according to Golf.com's Dylan Dethier.

Koepka admits his newfound candidness stems from what he's seen in other sports, specifically basketball, where the league's stars seemingly never hold back.

"That's kinda where I got it from, just from all these guys who play basketball, they speak their mind, they're gonna do what they want to do, they're gonna say what they wanna say," he added.

With the help of five Tour wins and the aforementioned three majors, Koekpa believes he's now in a position to say whatever's on his mind.

"I think before, I was just trying to be politically correct and not stir any bubbles and just kind of go on with things and be unnoticed, and to be honest with you, I feel like now where I've put myself in the game, I've kind of established myself, and I feel like I do actually have a voice," the 28-year-old said.

By the sounds of it, a season full of Koepka quotes is only getting started.

"There's a lot of things I've got opinions on, I'm going to say it now. I'm not going to hold anything back. There's a lot of good things, and there are some things that need to be changed," he said.

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