If you had asked anyone about Brooks Koepka just two months ago, they would have most probably stated that he was another one of those talented 20-somethings who frequent PGA Tour leader boards. He had been a three-time All-American at Florida State where he won three collegiate tournaments. He found himself on the European Tour’s Challenge Tour after graduation. He had two solid seasons on the the Challenge Tour, which led to his graduation to the European Tour in 2014.
In November of 2014 Brooks won the Turkish Open on the European Tour and three months later he found the winner’s circle at the Phoenix Open on the American PGA Tour. Just like Daniel Berger, Patrick Cantlay, Tony Finau and the others, Koepka was a second-tiered member of the new breed, one level below Rory and Jordan. Two years later he reached the rare stratosphere of major championship stardom, capturing the 2017 United States Open at Erin Hills outside Milwaukee. While winning the National Open was quite an accomplishment, there were undertones about the flaky nature of the setup at Erin Hills where Koepka shot 16 under par and Justin Thomas carded a third-round 9-under-par 63.
Yet over the course of the last 60 days, Brooks Koepka has turned a nice career into a future Hall of Fame career. In spite of the questionable setup for this year’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island, Brooks won his second consecutive Open title, joining the likes of Curtis Strange and Ben Hogan in the record books. Last weekend he further cemented his place in the game’s history by taking home the PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club outside St. Louis. Koepka was able to add his name alongside Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only golfers during the past 100 years to win both the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship in the same season.
Most amazingly, did anyone see this coming? Winning one of golf’s four majors is the biggest accomplishment in the world of professional golf. Winning two grand slam events in the same season is even bigger. Since the turn of the century only Tiger Woods (four times), Padraig Harrington and Jordan Spieth have prevailed twice in the same calendar year on golf’s major stages. If anyone outside of the Koepka family told you that they knew this was possible, they are far removed from the truth. No one could possibly imagine this.
Koepka won the PGA Championship by using the same format that got him a pair of U.S. Open titles. He drove the ball long and deadly accurate; his wedge game was spot on; and he made all the important putts. Most importantly, while he was surrounded on the leader board by the game’s biggest names, he showed the talent and the fortitude to win under the glare of the game’s brightest lights.
Koepka made two early bogeys and found himself on a crowded leader board that included Adam Scott, Tiger Woods, Jason Day, John Rahm, Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas and Thomas Pieters. Pieters was on fire, Thomas was the defending champ, Day had won the PGA at Whistling Straits, Scott was knocking down flags, and Tiger was looking a lot like the Tiger of old, not old Tiger. Rahm and Rickie had something to prove in an attempt to win their first major title. When the heat got to its hottest, Koepka ran off three consecutive birdies on the seventh, eighth and ninth holes. As things tightened up again on the back nine, Brooks made birdies on the 15th and 16th holes to give himself some breathing room over the rest of the field. Five birdies during the final 12 holes is what it took for Koepka to win the PGA Championship.
So now there is absolutely no debate on who is the golfer of the year for 2018. It really doesn’t matter what happens this week at Greensboro or how the ensuing Fed Ex Cup playoffs shake out over their four-week run in late August and September. Brooks Koepka is the golfer of the year based on his two major victories at the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship. That’s very amazing stuff from a golfer who had early season wrist surgery and wasn’t able to compete in this year’s Masters in April.
Looking back over the game’s long history, it’s hard to compare Brooks Koepka to other past golfers of note. Physically, the only golfer I can think of who even remotely resembles Koepka was the late Mike Souchak, a 15-time winner on the PGA Tour. Souchak was a bomber who could go low. Physically he had a similar body frame to Koepka and during his college days at Duke University, Souchak was not only a member of the golf team but also spent his autumn days as an end and a kicker on Duke’s football team. Yet Souchak went major-less, best known as the victim of Arnold Palmer’s historic charge at the 1960 National Open at Cherry Hills. As time moves on, we may see more physical specimens such as Brooks Koepka playing golf, but right now he seems to be a one of a kind. It’s all very impressive stuff for a 28-year-old.
The PGA Championship marked the conclusion of the race for places on the Ryder Cup. The matches are scheduled for late September in Paris and the initial eight members of the American squad include Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler and Webb Simpson. American Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk will make a total of four captain’s picks. Three of the picks will occur after the second week of the playoffs and a final pick will make the squad after week three. Currently the short list of Ryder Cup wild-card picks include old-timers Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, new breed 20-somethings Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele and Kevin Kisner, and steady experienced veterans such as Zach Johnson, Brandt “Mr. 59” Snedeker, and Matt Kuchar. Furyk has a lot of contemplating to do in the next three weeks as he hopes to lead an American squad that hasn’t won on foreign soil since 1993, a quarter century ago.
Speaking of the up-and-coming Ryder Cup Matches, our coverage will once again feature prognostications from three-time Ryder Cup team member and winner Johnny Pott. Pott was front and center during golf’s golden era of the 1960s, partnered up with Arnold Palmer, was a member of the Ben Hogan 1967 team that is oftentimes considered the greatest of all time, and always has great insights into the happenings of professional golf.
