AUGUSTA, Ga. – Jena Sims Koepka emerged from the clubhouse for the final round of the 87th Masters wearing a cozy green dress and light-colored shoes she was keen to keep out of the mud. After a brutally wet, cold and windy Saturday, patrons were spoiled by sunshine for what was sure to be a final-round duel between major champions Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka.
The couple met for the first time at the 2015 Masters and were married last summer in Turks and Caicos with an afterparty performance from rapper Ludacris.
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Golfweek caught up with Jena on Sunday to chat about the couple’s episode in the Netflix’s ‘Full Swing” series, her quest to be part of the SI Swimsuit franchise and Brooks’ march toward a fifth major:
Jena's 'Full Swing' review
Jena, an actress, model and philanthropist, has been involved in television enough to know that much gets left on the cutting-room floor. Even so, she was admittedly disappointed by how little of their footage was used.
“I think that could have made us look better, if I’m honest,” she said.
The crew followed the couple at several tournaments, including last year’s Masters, and mic’d up Jena during a couple of PGA Tour rounds, though none of that was used.
“At our house, they came two or three times,” she said, “and they just ended up putting me in a bikini essentially.”
She did, however, appreciate that “Full Swing” showed a more vulnerable side to Brooks.
“People think he’s a hard-ass all the time with a chip on his shoulder,” she said. “To show the human side of him was really nice.”
From pom-poms to Par 3
Jena grew up in Wilder, Georgia, where her father, an avid golfer who is in Augusta this week, fervently tried to get her pick up the game.
“He jokes, ‘I would hand you a club and you’d pick up a pom-pom,’ ” she said, laughing. “My sister, on the other hand, is an amazing golfer, she played on our high school team.”
Jena, who was a cheerleader, dancer and gymnast growing up, donned the caddie suit Wednesday at the Masters Par 3 Contest and drained a six-foot putt.
“I was pretty proud of myself for holing that putt,” she said. “The fact that I got to hit a shot here – not a lot of people get to do that.”
Masters meet cute
Jena slid into Brooks’ direct messages on Instagram eight years ago, and they met for the first time during the first round of the 2015 Masters between the seventh and eighth holes.
After winning four majors between 2017 and 2019, Koepka struggled mightily with his health after falling in his home in 2021 and dislocating his knee, an injury made worse when he tried to snap it back in place.
“If I wasn’t going to be able to move the way I wanted to, I didn’t want to play the game anymore. It’s just that simple,” he said of the climb back.
“There was definitely moments of that. Last year was pretty tough, just a lot of frustration. Felt like I should have been ahead of where I was. Some other things off the course happened, and it just doesn’t put you in a good mood, and it’s tough to wake up every day and go through the whole grind, and it takes you 20 minutes just to get out of bed and move it.”
Jena describes her outlook as rainbows and sunshine, a stark contrast to Brooks, she said, who takes on “more of a ‘You suck; you’re never going to win; you’re never going to amount to anything’ mindset.
“I think some people just can’t relate to that, but that’s what works for him,” she said. “There’s really no right or wrong way.”
'Everyone leaves a winner'
Jena first got involved in pageants in high school as a way to earn scholarship money. After she won her first pageant, America’s Junior National Teenager, she was struck by the impact it made, noting that it helped develop her confidence, stage presence and communication skills.
That’s when she had the light-bulb moment of bringing that winning feeling to kids she worked with through the American Cancer Society who were battling terminal illness. Jena created “Pageant of Hope” in 2005 while she was still in high school. This year’s event will be held on May 13 in Jupiter, Florida, where the Koepkas make their home.
Each year Jena brings together a band of former pageant winners she calls “Has-Been Beauty Queens” or (HBBQs), which includes herself, to pamper the kids for an afternoon and give them a stage to shine.
“These are the kids who need it most,” she said as her husband made his way down the par-5 second at Augusta National.
“So I created a pageant where everyone leaves a winner. Quite literally every person has a unique title, and we crown every single person.”
A dream of her own
While Brooks chases his first Masters title, Jena is in the midst of chasing a dream of her own. She’ll find out next month if she’s one of six models moving forward in the SI Swim Search. The annual casting call creates an opportunity to be part of the iconic franchise in either the print or digital platforms of the annual Swimsuit Issue.
For her first audition, she submitted a one-minute clip in which she noted how the current mission of SI mirrors the work of her foundation, focusing on celebrating inner beaty, inclusion and self-confidence.
“It would be a huge honor to have that platform,” she said, “to catapult everything that I’ve already been doing.”
