King Koepke

Not since 1989 has a golfer defended his crown at the US Open Championship. Curtis Strange was the player in question, the course Oak Hill in upstate New York. To the list of those who have achieved the feat – Ben Hogan was the only other - can now be added the name of Brooks Koepke whose near faultless final round at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island New York saw him retain the title that he claimed last year at Erin Hills, Wisconsin.

The US Open has long been regarded as the golf major which presents the sternest of mental examinations. Those of a short fuse tend to struggle. It also tests every physical aspect of a golfer’s game any hint of technical weakness being brutally exposed. Yesterday this was laid bare on the greens where time and again Koepke’s nerve allowed him to hole a succession of clutch putts. By contrast the nervous timidity of playing partner Dustin Johnson’s putting stroke resulted in him missing a number of short putts.

Nowhere was this more apparent than at the par three 11th where Koepke pulled his tee shot left into thick rough whilst Johnston finished on the putting surface within fourteen feet of the pin. Playing first Koepke’s near impossible pitch onto the turtle back green raced across the putting surface before settling in a bunker. From there he splashed out to twenty feet before holing out in the manner of someone playing in a Sunday afternoon fourball. Meanwhile Johnson’s first attempt slid three feet passed before he tamely leaked his follow up right of the cup. Where once, a two shot swing looked imminent, the two protagonist walked off the green having played the same number of shots. It was the round’s defining moment and from then on Koepke’s swing and mental strength held up in a way that nobody else, bar Tommy Fleetwood, managed.

The Englishman’s final round of 63 matched the lowest score at a US Open since Johnny Miller won at Oakmont in 1973. It was a remarkable example of ball striking and putting and though it occurred away from the pressures of a final group pairing, with three holes to play, it would have been clear to Fleetwood that his meteoric rise had now placed him firmly in contention. That he kept his nerve over those final holes indicates that he could have the wherewithal to be major champion. Indeed had his final birdie attempt gone in, he may well now be celebrating a first major triumph. Such are the fine margins separating the greats from the also rans.

Koepke is not yet a great. But he has the power, the swing and the nerve to take him there. Time will obviously tell.

©Mark Brennand