JOE BUCK has admitted he felt “sick” about famously misidentifying Jena Sims as Brooks Koepka’s ex-girlfriend.
Sims, who later married Koepka in 2022, was spotted supporting her then-boyfriend at the 2017 US Open as he won the first of his five majors.
But as Koepka, 35, celebrated the win, veteran announcer Buck wrongly identified Sims as the golfer’s ex-girlfriend, Becky Edwards.
And while Sims, 36, later told USA Today Sports that she forgave Buck for the accidental blunder, the broadcaster felt awful about the mistake at the time.
Buck went down memory lane on the JustIn Time Podcast with Justin Kutcher, via the New York Post.
The 56-year-old recalled: “During that week of the US Open, I had a producer making me appear way smarter than I actually am.
“Or way more well-read or way more well-versed in the PGA Tour than I otherwise would have been.
“And he handed me a card with the wrong name on there, I read the card and then, [Brad] Faxon corrected and said ‘no’ that’s his new girlfriend, Jena Sims.
“I felt, that I was sick about. Because we had been taking punch after punch on Fox Golf, and it was like the last thing we had on the air before we said goodbye.
“And we’d been on for five days, all day and it was a lot of work and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I let everybody down by that stupid, embarrassing moment’.
“And you feel like the world’s talking about it and really nobody cares.”
Buck had a chance to fix his mistake the following year as Koepka won the US Open again.
He’s reached a total of five major wins since then, and wed Sims in 2022.
The couple welcomed their son, Crew, in 2023.
Buck added: “‘I do my best every time I go on the air, I make countless mistakes.
“Not everything that comes out of my mouth is something that I’m proud of, not every note I have is right, and we live in a world that’s more gotcha than pat ya on the back.”
Koepka made waves in 2022 when joined LIV – reportedly for a $100million contract.
Despite that, he was allowed to compete in the 2023 PGA Championship and won the competition despite being part of the Saudi-backed league.
Koepka has not won a major since and has particularly struggled this year, missing the cut at both the PGA Championship and the Masters.
He performed better at the US Open, tying for 12th.
