OAKMONT, Pa. – Brooks Koepka once called the major championships the easiest to win. That was six years ago, when he had three. Now, he owns five, though none in eight attempts – eight frustrating attempts during which Koepka has not factored, mustered just one top-25 finish and missed each of his last two cuts.
So, does he still feel that way?
Is the big, bad Koepka, now 35, still among those precious few with the talent and toughness to conquer these types of tests?
“I don’t talk about it, you guys talk about it,” Koepka said, sending a clear message that he still doesn’t want to talk about it. Reminded that it was his quote, Koepka added, “I said it once, and now everybody repeats it.”
But actions always speak louder than words, and on Thursday at Oakmont Country Club, Koepka announced to this 125th U.S. Open field that he’s not done yet. Koepka’s 2-under 68, capped by back-to-back birdies, has him just two shots back of leader J.J. Spaun, but more importantly, it slots him in as one of just two major champions under par along with Jon Rahm (1 under).
The other eight? They have combined for eight major top-10s, half of which are ed for by Sungjae Im and none of which have come in a U.S. Open.
The old Koepka wouldn’t blink at those guys.
But in recent months Koepka hasn’t felt like himself. Since his runner-up at LIV Singapore, he’s not finished better than T-17 on the 54-player circuit while trunk-slamming on Fridays at Augusta National and Quail Hollow. He’s slipped to No. 98 in Data Golf’s rankings, too. And his attitude? Maybe the worst it’s ever been.
“I would say from the first weekend in April until about last week, you didn’t want to be around me,” Koepka said. “It drove me nuts. It ate at me. I haven’t been happy. It’s been very irritating. It’s a lot – I mean, I had to apologize – I’ve apologized to Rick, Pete, Jeff, Blake, my wife, my son, everybody. I wouldn’t have wanted to be around me.”
Koepka’s stats show him hemorrhaging strokes around and on the greens. Koepka its he’s “just got into some bad habits and bad swing positions,” with the club being as much as 9 inches off from where Koepka perceived it to be, and Koepka’s patented baby fade developing into a two-way miss.
The issue became so dire that Koepka didn’t play the golf course the first two days of practice at last week’s LIV Golf Virginia event, opting instead to sit on the range and figure it out.
“It’s starting to click,” said Koepka, who gained over two strokes ball-striking on Thursday while ranking third in strokes gained around the green.
But not without some extra fire lit by Koepka’s coach Pete Cowen on Monday in a bunker at the far corner of Oakmont’s practice area.
“For about 45 minutes, I just sat there, and he scolded me pretty well,” said Koepka, who wouldn’t disclose exactly what was said.
Cowen has needed to use similar tactics in the past, most famously ahead of the 2017 U.S. Open, when he told the then-major-less Koepka, “You need to have the attitude of a champion and stop being a petulant child.” Cowen also told Koepka to stop whining about his putting following last year’s Masters.
“I’ll put it this way: JT thought he had to come check on me in the bunker,” Koepka added. “… I wasn’t happy with it, but it was something I think you need to hear or I needed to hear at the right time. It’s not the first time he’s done it. He’s not afraid to. I don’t like having yes-people around me. I just want somebody to tell me the truth, tell me what’s going on, what they see.
“If I start swaying from being Brooks Koepka, then I want someone to call me out on it, and he did a helluva job on it.”
Brooks Koepka was certainly Brooks Koepka on Thursday at Oakmont.
He’d like to keep it that way.
