Brooks Koepka

Koepka won the U.S. Open at Erin Hills with rounds of 67-70-68-67 - 272 for his first major championship and second PGA Tour title at age 27 years, 1 month, 15 days. After a three-under-par opening nine in the final round, he three-putted the 10th hole for his fifth bogey of the week and first on the back nine. With three consecutive birdies at holes 14, 15, and 16, and two closing pars, came from one back at the start of the day to seal a comfortable four-stroke victory over Hideki Matsuyama and Brian Harman. Tied Rory McIlroy's 16-under total from 2011 for most strokes under par after 72 holes at a U.S. Open. Shared 36-hole lead at seven-under 137 with Paul Casey, Brian Harman and Tommy Fleetwood. Over the last 30 years, became the third player to win the U.S. Open with 67 or better in the final round - Hale Irwin (1990), Tiger Woods (2000). Hit 17 of 18 greens in the final round and led greens in regulation for the week with 62 of 72 (86.11%).
The next year at Shinnecock Hills, Koepka defended his title with a one-stroke victory over Tommy Fleetwood. Koepka became the first repeat winner of the U.S. Open since Curtis Strange in 1989. Moved to fourth in the Official World Golf Ranking following the win, his third in 95 starts. At the age of 28 years, 1 month, 14 days, became the youngest player to win back-to-back at the U.S. Open since Ralph Guldahl in 1938 (age 28). In addition to becoming the 22nd multiple winner of the U.S. Open, became the seventh to do so in back-to-back years. Joined Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy as current players under the age of 30 with multiple majors. Joined previous U.S. Open champions at Shinnecock Hills (James Foulis/1896), Raymond Floyd (1986), Corey Pavin (1995), Retief Goosen (2004). The victory marked his 11th consecutive top-25 finish in major championships (13 top-25s in 18 major starts). Opened with a five-over 75, becoming the first winner since Raymond Floyd (1986) to open with a 75 or higher.
One of his year's highlights was winning the PGA Championship. In the process, he became the 20th player to win the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship in his career, and he was just the fifth (Gene Sarazen/1922, Ben Hogan/1948, Jack Nicklaus/1980, Tiger Woods/2000 and Koepka/2018) to accomplish the feat in a year. Koepka also won Player of the Year honors.
With the PGA Championship moving from August to May, Koepka was ready and won his fourth major title at Bethpage State Park's Black Course. Got off on the right foot with an opening-round 63 and never looked back, becoming the first wire-to-wire winner since Hal Sutton in 1983 and the fifth overall. Koepka did achieve something no other person had ever done: win back-to-back titles at both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship. He also joined a small list of players to win multiple titles at both the PGA Championship and U.S. Open (Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods). Became the fourth player in the modern era to win four or more majors in a span of eight starts, joining Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
Koepka was born in Wellington, Florida. His great uncle is Dick Groat, a two-time World Series-winning shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the 1960 National League Most Valuable Player. His mother, Denise Jakows was a news anchor in a West Palm Beach station from 1986 to 1999. At an early age, he had to endure some hardships. In 2011, his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy, then went through a long chemotherapy treatment. At age 10, Koepka fractured his nose and sinus cavity when his babysitter's car was hit at an intersection. That summer, he couldn't play any contact sports, so he spent most days at West Palm Beach's public Okeeheelee Golf Course. He played college golf at Florida State University, where he won three events and was a three-time All-American. He qualified for the 2012 U.S. Open as an amateur. Played in the stroke-play portion of the U.S. Amateur in 2010 and '11. Won the 2012 FAU Spring Break Invitational and the Seminole Intercollegiate. Won the 2011 Brickyard Collegiate and was named ACC Player of the Year in 2010 and '12. Earned 2012 All-American, All-Region and All-ACC Team honors and was a 2010 third-team All-American. Named All-ACC honoree in 2010 and '11 and had three runner-up finishes during his four years at FSU. Was named ACC Freshman of the Year in 2009.
After missing the cut at the 2012 U.S. Open, Koepka turned professional and began playing on the Challenge Tour in Europe. He won his first event in September at the Challenge de Catalunya. Koepka backed it up the following year when he won the 2013 Montecchia Golf Open for his second victory on the Challenge Tour. Another win followed a month later at the Fred Olsen Challenge de Espana, where he set two tournament records, a 24-under-par 260 and a winning margin of 10 strokes. Three weeks later, he earned his third win of the year at the Scottish Hydro Challenge. With three victories in one year, he earned his European Tour card for the remainder of the 2013 and 2014 seasons. One day after his third Challenge Tour win of 2013, Koepka qualified for the British Open. Koepka made his debut as a member of the European Tour (he played in three events prior to promotion) at the Scottish Open, finishing T-12th. Was able to play 10 events on the European Tour during the rest of 2013, finishing with two top-10s and placing 113th in the Race to Dubai.
2014 Notes: Koepka was given a sponsor exemption into the Frys.com Open, where he finished T-3rd. He got into the Zurich Classic through Monday qualifying and finished T-21st. That performance earned him enough FedExCup points to give him special temporary membership status on the PGA Tour, allowing him unlimited sponsor exemptions for the rest of the year. Finished T-4th at the U.S. Open, his second top-10 finish. Earned over $1 million on the PGA Tour, which along with his FedExCup points, earned him his PGA Tour card for 2015. On the European Tour, finished T-3rd at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic and in Switzerland at the Omega European Masters. Played in the European Tour playoffs and won the Turkish Airlines Open. Ended the year eighth in the Race to Dubai.
2015 Notes: Opened his year with a T-8th at the Frys.com Open and T-4th at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. After finishing T-19th at the Nedbank Golf Challenge the first week in December, Koepka put the clubs away for a full month and did not touch them until a week before the Waste Management Phoenix Open. At Phoenix, he found himself three shots behind Martin Laird. Koepka shot a bogey-free, five-under-par 66 in the final round, highlighted by making a 50-foot eagle putt from off the green at the par-5 15th hole to claim his first career PGA Tour win by a stroke over Bubba Watson, Ryan Palmer and Hideki Matsuyama. At the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Koepka tweaked a rib while warming up before the first round. He tried to play, but on Saturday dislocated a rib during the round. On a tee shot at the 12th hole, the pain was so unbearable that he was forced to withdraw. Was able to play at the Masters (T-33rd). After the rib injury, he finished T-3rd at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, T-10th at the British Open, T-6th at the WGC-Bridgestone, T-5th at the PGA Championship and T-6th at the Wyndham Championship. Played all four FedExCup playoffs, with his best result a T-18th at the Tour Championship. Finished 24th in the FedExCup standings and 19th on the money list. The week after the Tour Championship, he played in Scotland at the Alfred Dunhill Links, and with weekend rounds of 64-67, finished T-2nd, two strokes behind winner Thorbjorn Olesen. Ended his year 7th at the Hero World Challenge.
2016 Notes: Played in the final group with winner Jordan Spieth and finished T-3rd at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Finished T-8th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. At the WGC-Dell Match Play Championship, lost in the quarterfinals (T-5th) to the eventual winner, Jason Day, 3 & 2. Lost a playoff against Sergio Garcia. Was runner-up in his next start at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, where he finished three behind winner Daniel Berger. It was his third runner-up finish in six months. Was forced to withdraw from the WGC-Bridgestone and the British Open. Koepka said on Facebook that he tore a ligament in his right ankle after the U.S. Open and went through rehab, hoping to be fine for the PGA Championship. Despite a still-tender ankle, he posted four rounds of par or better to claim 4th place with Hideki Matsuyama and Branden Grace. In his next start, he finished T-9th at the Travelers Championship. He played 21 PGA Tour events and finished 35th in the FedExCup standings and 23rd on the money list. Making his first-ever start at the Ryder Cup, went 3-1 in his four matches in the United States' 17-11 victory at Hazeltine. His three-point total (tied with Brandt Snedeker) was second only to Patrick Reed's three-and-a-half points. Closed the week with a dominating 5 & 4 victory over reigning Masters champion Danny Willett. Ended the 2016 season with a one-stroke win over Yuta Ikeda at the Dunlop Phoenix, his sixth international victory.
2017 Notes: Played 24 PGA Tour events, making 20 cuts. Finished in the top-10 seven times and placed 10th in the FedExCup standings. After finishing T-40th at the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, China, Koepka returned home to play at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, where he finished 2nd, two strokes behind winner Rod Pampling. At the WGC-Dell Match Play, he reached the round of 16 before losing to Alex Noren to finish T-9th. Had another top-3 finish at the Valero Texas Open, finishing 2nd, one stroke behind winner Kevin Chappell. Won the U.S. Open by four strokes. A month later, he played at the British Open, and despite shooting 71 in the final round, still finished T-6th. Ended his PGA Tour season with a 6th-place finish at the Tour Championship. Posted a 2-2-0 record in his debut Presidents Cup appearance, helping lead the United States to a 19-11 victory over the International squad. Held off fan-favorite Yuta Ikeda's final-day surge to win the Dunlop Phoenix with birdies on the final two holes, closing a six-under 65 for a one-stroke victory over Ikeda.
2018 Notes: Played 17 PGA Tour events and made 15 cuts with six top-10 finishes. Ranked 9th in the FedExCup standings. Before his Dunlop win, Koepka finished T-2nd at the WGC-HSBC Champions. During his travels home from Japan and while playing two weeks later in the Bahamas at the Hero World Challenge, he played with left-wrist pain. At the Hero World Challenge, he finished in last place. The pain still lingered a month later during the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Doctors determined that he had a partially torn tendon in his left wrist and recommended eight to 12 weeks of rest and therapy. He returned 16 weeks later at the Wells Fargo, finishing T-42nd. Played the next week at The Players Championship with some lingering pain and finished T-11th. Took a week off and was 2nd at the Fort Worth Invitational, three strokes behind winner Justin Rose. Won the U.S. Open by a stroke over Tommy Fleetwood and finished 5th at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. At the PGA Championship, his 100th career PGA Tour start, Koepka shot a 16-under 264 total to defeat Tiger Woods by two strokes. His total set a 72-hole PGA Championship record, and his second-round 63 tied the tournament's record for the lowest single-round score. His last top-10 of the year was a T-8th at the Northern Trust. Played his second Ryder Cup in France and went 1-2-1 for the week. He halved his singles match with Paul Casey. A week after the Ryder Cup, he finished T-7th at the Alfred Dunhill Links at St. Andrews. Named PGA Tour Player of the Year.
2019 Notes: Played in 21 PGA Tour events, making 20 cuts with nine top-10 finishes. Placed 3rd in the FedExCup standings. He was the PGA of America Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. Started with a victory at the CJ Cup Nine Bridges, defeating Gary Woodland by four strokes. His final-round 64 included a seven-under 29 on the back nine that was highlighted by a birdie-birdie-par-eagle finish. Was T-9th at the Abu Dhabi Championship. Posted a T-2nd at the Honda Classic, where he birdied two of his last three holes in a final-round 66. He finished one stroke behind winner Keith Mitchell. At the Masters, Koepka posted four-under-par rounds and finished T-2nd, one stroke behind winner Tiger Woods. Playing at Trinity Forest for the first time at the AT&T Byron Nelson, shot rounds of 65-66-68-65 to finish 4th, three strokes behind winner Sung Kang. Koepka led big after every round of the PGA Championship and, in the end, won it by 2 strokes over Dustin Johnson. Was the first player in PGA Championship history to hold a lead of seven or more strokes after 36 holes (7) and the first to do so after 54 holes (7). His 36-hole score of 128 was the lowest in major championship history. At the U.S. Open in his bid to become the first player since Willie Anderson in 1903-05 to win three consecutive U.S. Opens, finished 2nd, three strokes behind Gary Woodland. Became the first player in U.S. Open history to record four scores in the 60s and not win (69-69-68-68). At the British Open, finished T-4th and became the fifth player ever to finish in the top-five at all four majors in a single year, joining Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth. The next week, he earned his first World Golf Championships victory at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Entered the final round trailing Rory McIlroy by one stroke before firing a bogey-free 65 to win by three over Webb Simpson. Became the fifth player to win a WGC and a major in the same season, joining Tiger Woods (eight times), Geoff Ogilvy (2006), Rory McIlroy (2014) and Dustin Johnson (2016). Led going into the FedExCup playoffs but with a T-30th at the Northern Trust, T-24th at the BMW Championship and T-3rd at the Tour Championship, finished 3rd.
2020 Notes: On the Monday after the Tour Championship, August 26th, underwent stem-cell treatment to repair a partially torn patella tendon in his left knee. He stayed off his feet for three days before beginning a four-week rehab program. A week before the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, started to play golf again. Missed the cut at the Shriners and went to Korea to defend his CJ Cup title. During the wet second round, Koepka slipped on wet concrete and aggravated the left knee, and withdrew from the tournament. Went through months of painful rehab and wasn't able to play in the Presidents Cup or the Sentry Tournament of Champions. He made his return at Abu Dhabi, shooting a promising first -round 66 but followed it with rounds of 75-70-69 to finish T-34th. In his next start, he finished T-17th at Saudi International. At the Genesis Open, he finished T-43rd and in an interview with Golf Channel, said he was nowhere close to 100% and was still experiencing pain. This would become a recurring theme. Many thought the break for COVID-19 would help, and when he came back and finished T-32nd at Charles Schwab and 7th at RBC Heritage, the feeling was the pain had diminished. But after missing the cut at Workday and 3M Open, then a T-62nd at Memorial, he said before the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational that he had an MRI on the knee and would decide after the season is over if he would have surgery. He played in the PGA Championship and was in contention until he shot 74 in the final round to finish T-29th. During the second round, Koepka was seen getting worked on by a physiotherapist and downplayed the injury, and said there was nothing to worry about. After missing the cut at the Wyndham Championship, he withdrew from the FedExCup playoffs and went to San Diego, where he underwent another round of platelet-rich plasma injections in his left knee and started rehab on both his left knee and left hip.
2021 NOTES: Ten days before the CJ Cup@Shawdow Creek, he began hitting balls and traveled to Las Vegas to work with swing coach Butch Harmon. He was pleasantly surprised by not having pain or limitations. At the CJ Cup@Shawdow Creek, he finished T-28th and didn't have any pain issues. Koepka then returned to San Diego for more rehab and was hoping to play Houston to prepare for the Masters. At the Vivint Houston Open shot 65-65 over the weekend to finish T-5th, five shots back of winner Carlos Ortiz.