Many soccer fans already know Becky Edwards, but golf fans also learned her name at last year’s U.S. Open.
For the uninitiated, Edwards is an American professional soccer player who has had several stints in the National Women’s Soccer League (most recently with the Orlando Pride), has played at the national level and currently plays for a club in Sweden.
She also happens to have a rather famous ex-boyfriend: Brooks Koepka, one of the best players on the PGA Tour. And after Koepka won the U.S. Open in 2017, announcer Joe Buck made an embarrassing mistake, referring to Koepka’s current girlfriend, Jena Sims, as Becky Edwards.
Here’s what you need to know about her:
1. She Has Had a Lengthy Pro Career
The 5-foot-8 Edwards is a midfielder/defender who began her professional career in 2010 when she was selected 12th overall by FC Gold Pride of the WPS, which is now defunct. After some stints with the Western New York Flash and a couple of clubs in Sweden, she joined the Portland Thorns for the inaugural season of the NWSL in 2013. She also played with the Houston Dash, Western New York Flash and Orlando Pride before announcing her retirement in 2016.
But then Sweden came calling, and she couldn’t pass up the opportunity, signing with Kristianstads DFF for the third time in her career.
“I’ve always enjoyed my time in Sweden,” she said. “I love the culture and for me I didn’t feel ready (for retirement), so when they reached out I was like ‘let’s do this’ and jumped right in, and I’m happy to be here with this team.”
2. She Went to Florida State With Koepka
A native of Downington, Pennsylvania, Edwards was ranked as a Top 25 recruit in high school and ultimately chose to attend Florida State, where she played from 2006 through 2009.
And during that time in Tallahassee, she was an absolute star. In ’06, she was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team. As a sophomore, she was named to Soccer Buzz’s Fourth Team All-America. As a junior, she was an NSCAA First Team All-American and All-ACC Second Team nod. During her final year, she was named to several more all-national teams and was a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy, which goes to the top male and female college players in the country.
She ended her Seminoles career fifth all-time in starts with 89 and tied for third in all-time appearances with 95.
Koepka, meanwhile, entered Florida State when Edwards was a senior. He went on to have similar success for the ‘Noles, becoming a three-time All-American before turning pro in 2012.
3. Edwards Has Extensive Youth National Team Experience
Edwards at the 2007 Pan American Games. (Getty)
Edwards also enjoyed great success for the U.S. National Youth teams.
She began in 2005 with the Under-17 squad, then moved on to the U20 team. Playing alongside Alex Morgan, who is now one of the USWNT’s most famous players, Edwards helped that squad win a gold medal in the FIFA Youth World Cup in Chile in 2008.
Her next stop was the U23 Women’s National Team in 2011, with the Americans winning the Four Nations Tournament in Spain. She earned a call-up to National Team training in November 2011 but never made an appearance with the senior squad.
4. She Was Once Traded for Carli Lloyd
In addition to her long list of accolades, Edwards also has another important part in women’s soccer history, as she was involved in a trade with one of the best players of all-time.
On October 16, 2014, Edwards–along with defender Whitney Engen and a third-round pick–was traded from the Houston Dash to the Western New York Flash in exchange for Carli Lloyd, who, among her endless list of achievements, would later would go on to win FIFA Player of the Year in both 2015 and ’16.
5. Edwards Was Often in Koepka’s Cheering Section
(Getty)
Though she certainly had a busy schedule of her own, Edwards was no stranger to the gallery of Koepka, who has one PGA Tour win and is ranked 22nd in the world, so it’s not surprising Buck would have thought she was there. Most notably, she was in attendance when Koepka helped the United States to a Ryder Cup victory in 2016.
Edwards was also at Augusta National to caddie for Koepka for the annual Par-3 Contest in 2016:
Special day caddying for @BKoepka in the par 3 contest! Wishing you the best this week 😘 #TheMasters.
“His girlfriend, Becky Edwards, an all-American soccer player at Florida State,” Buck said as Koepka kissed Simmons. His broadcast partner, former PGA golfer Brad Faxon, quickly corrected him. “Joe, that’s actually his new girlfriend. That’s Jena Sims. They were all staying together this week.”
Buck told the “Dan Patrick Show” after the tournament, “I wasn’t up on that information. I got handed a card by a buddy who was phenomenal all week, and it had old info on it. We got it right before we got off the air, but that’s not the world we live in. These days, you have to do the apology tour for getting the week-old girlfriend wrong, so, sorry world.”
He added, “The only person I feel bad for in the whole situation is his ex-girlfriend. I don’t know her name, I don’t know the name of the current girlfriend — the week-old girlfriend — and I probably won’t know going forward, but good for him.”
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Becky Edwards, Brooks Koepka’s Ex-Girlfriend: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know