Brooks Koepka Wins Back-to-Back U.S. Open Championships

Brooks Koepka is your 2018 U.S. Open champion.

***

After witnessing a drastic change in course conditions that were magnified by questionable pin placements on Saturday, the USGA took everything they’d heard and turned Sunday into a much easier golf course. This afforded viewers with a much closer U.S. Open than many imagined after Dustin Johnson appeared to be in control on Friday. Johnson’s Saturday brought him back to the field and during the final round it turned into anyone’s game.

But the man who moved into a four-way tie for the lead on Saturday, Brooks Koepka, held on for dear life with a spectacular round on Sunday that featured too many great up and downs to even mention. Koepka became only the seventh player to win back-to-back U.S. Open championships and one of the most unlikely players to do so.

While Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed gave Brooks a run for his money during the afternoon wave of players, Tommy Fleetwood sat waiting in the players hospitality lounge after shooting a seven-under, 63. Fleetwood’s round was good enough to put him in position to win, but even he knew that a 62 would have been better and he said as much after his round.

"Q. You’re one of only two champs to shoot 63 in a U.S. Open. Fleetwood, “Yeah, but I wanted 62.”"

That 62 would have moved him to one-over for the tournament, and into a tie with Koepka who hooked his shot into the 18th green into the grandstand and settled for a bogey and one-over finish.

Koepka now has two major championship wins before his buddy Dustin Johnson, who reclaimed the number one world ranking after a win last week at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.

His year had been tumultuous after he suffered a wrist injury last season and missed most of the beginning of the season, including the Masters, making his first start in late April at the Zurich Classic. After a T42 at the Wells Fargo Championship, Koepka finished T11 at the Players and followed that up with a solo second at the Fort Worth Invitational.

There’s something to be said about a man who can win on a setup like we saw at Erin Hills where he posted a 16-under and going to Shinnecock where the conditions and setup were totally different and win with even par.

By all means, what Koepka has done this year is impressive. He’s proven that he is a much better and more complete golfer than anyone could have ever imagined.

***

Repeat U.S. Open winners:

Willie Anderson (1903-04-05)
John McDermott (1911, 12)
Bob Jones (1929, 30)
Ralph Guldahl (1937, 38)
Ben Hogan (1950, 51)
Curtis Strange (1988, 89)
Brooks Koepka (2017, 18)

***

Notable finishes:

2 – Tommy Fleetwood
3 – Dustin Johnson
4 – Patrick Reed
5 – Tony Finau
T6 – Henrik Stenson
T10 – Justin Rose
T16 – Hideki Matsuyama
T20 – Rickie Fowler
T25 – Jason Dufner
T25 – Justin Thomas
T25 – Bryson DeChambeau
T48 – Phil Mickelson
T56 – Jimmy Walker