Brooks Koepka’s second US Open win in a row

Brooks Keopka on his way to victory in the US Open as he hits his tee shot on the 18th hole at Shinnecock Hills PHOTO USGA/J.D. Cuban

It was the first time in 29 years and only the seventh time in 118 years.
That was the feat achieved by Brooks Koepka when he won the United States Open last month for a second year in a row.
The previous person to win two consecutive US Opens was Curtis Strange who won in 1988 and 1989.
Oddly enough, Strange was on hand for the latest win, working as a television commentator. Strange followed Koepka’s group on the final day and was glad he did.
“It was a joy to watch somebody perform at that level and to do something special,” Strange said.
“I was just glad to be a part of it, seriously. I love watching these guys perform beyond what you think they can. It’s fantastic.”
But Strange, 63, made it clear that he is not ready to fade into history.
“You know, they haven’t taken anything away from me,” he said. “He just joined the six of us. Now there’s seven of us. It’s fantastic.
“It is a little interesting, coincidental or whatever, but I’m just glad I got to be a part of it... I take my hat off to him.”
Koepka said it gave him great satisfaction to win again as there had been talk his previous US Open win at Erin Hills had been a course suit to big hitters like himself.
“I think this whole thing of everyone said Erin Hills was set up for me, it was set up for a lot of guys that bomb the ball,” Koepka said of last year’s venue with rugby-field wide fairways.
“I just happened to play a little bit better that week. This week it was just back to a typical US Open, where one over par wins the golf tournament. It’s just a lot of grinding. But I couldn’t be happier with the way I played.”
Koepka showed great patience in his final round at Shinnecock Hills. On the par three 11th hole, Koepka’s ball was stuck in thick rough behind the green.
But he did not panic. Instead he purposely pitched across the putting surface and into a bunker, then got up and down, draining a 13-footer to get away with a bogey four.
One hole later, and again in a tricky spot behind the green, he did one better, getting up and down for par after knocking in a nervy six-footer.
Then on the most difficult hole on the course, the par four 14th, Koepka drove into rough too heavy even for his might, forcing him to chop out and leaving a delicate 60-metre shot to the green. He then nipped the ball into a forward hole location made difficult by a false front and stopped it eight feet from the cup before sinking the putt to keep a two-stroke lead.
Koepka’s caddy Ricky Elliot said the bogey on No 11 was a turning point.
“That was huge,” Elliot said.
“It’s hard to believe a bogey can keep your momentum, but it did. He’s been one of best putters on tour and hits it a long way, but his short game is so good.”
 Earlier in the year Koepka missed three months of golf due to a partially torn tendon in his left wrist and was down in the dumps about a suddenly uncertain future.
The injury kept Koepka out of the US Masters, and that only motivated him. The day after Patrick Reed slipped his arms into the green jacket that is awarded to the Masters winner, Koepka got clearance to hit balls again. He started with wedges and nine-irons, and looked like he hadn’t missed a day. By the end of the week he was getting after it with full shots.
Elliot said he could hardly believe what he was seeing when he went to watch Koepka hit some balls in his comeback.
“I went down and he was hitting full shots, and he was hitting them right out of the button,” Elliott said.
“I’m going, are you sure you haven’t been practicing? He didn’t hit a shot for three and a half months, and it looked like he hadn’t missed a beat. I have no idea how he does it; he’s obviously a tremendously talented guy.”

Brooks Koepka with the trophy during a news conference after winning the US Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in  New York PHOTO USGA/Darren Carroll

Koepka’s coach Claude Harmon said he noticed a new mindset from Koepka on his return from injury.
“For someone who’s never been a golf nerd, I think he fell in love with golf for the first time in his life,” Harmon said.
“He wasn’t that guy, not a guy who’s going to follow golf or watch golf. When he came back, there was a definite something about wanting to play again that I hadn’t seen before. I really believe he fell in love with golf again and fell in love with the game of golf and playing and hitting shots.”
Koepka admitted he missed the game while sidelined with injury.
“It was very frustrating sitting on the couch, not doing anything,’’ Koepka said.
“You know, I couldn’t pick anything up with my left hand. I was in a soft cast all the way up to my elbow. It wasn’t fun.”
Koepka said he was not surprised at how quickly he found form after the injury.
“No,” he said.
“I mean, last year at the British (Open), I think I played once from the US Open to the (British) Open and then came out, and I think I had a piece of the lead.
“I don’t need to practice every single day. It’s the same game I’ve been playing for 24 years now. I know what I’m doing. I know how to swing a golf club. It’s just a game that I’ve been playing my entire life.”
Koepka’s first US Open title defence looked doomed when he opened with a 75 on the first day of the tournament but he stormed back with a 66 on Friday. He fought the semi-unplayable course with a 72 on the third day and toughed it out on holes 11-14 on the Sunday when he easily could have folded.