Harry Kane and England team-mates played golf with Brooks Koepka before ramping up their preparations for the World Cup.
Koepka, the US Open winner in 2017 and 2018, joined Kane and four others from Thomas Tuchel’s squad at the exclusive Dutchman’s Pipe club where getting on the course is by invitation only.
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Tuchel wants his pre-tournament camp in West Palm Beach, Florida, to be relaxed before heading to Kansas next weekend when preparations will intensify before facing Croatia in the Group L opener on June 17 in Dallas.
Close friends and family have been allowed to visit players, rather than having the 26-man squad locked away and solely focused on training. Golf has been part of the downtime in the luxurious Palm Beach area where England are based at The Belgrove hotel, near Donald Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago.
Kane’s friendship with Koepka helped facilitate the round with the five-time major winner at the course, which features a signature dogleg hole called the Devil’s Elbow.
“I played with Stonesy [John Stones], Pickers [Jordan Pickford], Steeley [Jason Steele] and Harry Kane,” said Elliot Anderson. “We had a plus-one, we had Koepka on. Harry must know him. That was amazing. Mad really. He was so good. Put me to shame! I was so nervous on the tee box.”
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Brighton’s Jason Steele, who is not registered for the World Cup but is the fourth goalkeeper for training sessions, is thought to be the most accomplished golfer in the squad along with Kane.
Jordan Pickford has backed Tuchel’s decision to give players more freedom in the first part of the summer before the tournament gets close.
“I think the manager lets us have a couple of rounds of golf and get a bit of freedom,” said the England No 1. “The tournament for us doesn’t start until 17th of June. So I think this is going to be – train hard, get used to the climate, have a bit of freedom, bit of downtime. Get the sticks out hopefully.”
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