Brooks Koepka said this could happen to him. But it’s still a stunner

LOS ANGELES — He told us so. Sorta.

Two days before this U.S. Open, Brooks Koepka had been waxing poetic on majors and his almost uncanny level of success in them. He’s won five, including last month’s PGA Championship, at least has contended in most of the others he’s played in — while the other dudes haven’t. A fine recipe, for sure. 

So what’s the appeal, Brooks?

“I just love when I guess maybe somewhere closer to even par wins,” he said Tuesday. “If it’s going to be a birdiefest where 20-, 21-under wins, that’s really not the style. I really don’t even think I’ve competed in many golf events over my career where that’s happened. 

“But if you look at I would say maybe the majority of my wins, they’re all pretty much 10-under and less, which is kind of suited to major championship golf. I feel like — I just feel like I can outlast everybody when it comes to having to par things to death or just kind of wearing guys out on the golf course and just mentally beating you and knowing when it’s my time to kind of take that opportunity and go with it. I think being patient is a big thing with that, as well, and just knowing when to go after a flag or when to play cautious.”

Then they put the golf balls in the air here on Thursday at Los Angeles Country Club. 

And the third major of the year bizarrely turned into the John Deere Classic. 

And Koepka was looking up at a slew of names on the leaderboard. And you had to look down a bit to find him. He shot a one-over 71 during round one, and that’s respectable when they play these things at Shinnecock or Oakmont. But this is not meant to demean LACC, one of the finest ballparks in all of golf. It’s just that the world’s best went nuclear. 

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Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele each shot eight-under 62s. In all, the players broke the U.S. Open first-round scoring average. It was the “birdiefest” Koepka feared, and his results followed suit, though you can’t probably point to only that as the reason for his sluggish play. Across the board, he was off — 121st in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee; 65th in SG: Tee to Green; 92nd in SG: Approach; and 90th in SG: Putting. He was three over after six holes, rallied with two birdies on 8 and 9, but only parred from there. 

Late in the round, his mood over the proceedings was clear. On his approach into the par-4 16th, he leaned over and looked down. Same thing on the par-4 17th. When things are going right, Koepka stares these things down, which he did on the par-4 finisher — only to miss a 34-footer for birdie. When he was done, he found his wife, Jena, signed a ball for his standard bearer, then took three questions from a handful of reporters. He said he didn’t deserve to shoot much better. He said he could rebound. 

At last month’s PGA, he opened with a two-over 72, then went 66, 66 and 67 at Oak Hill Country Club, but there he was six back after 18. Here he’s nine. He’s started slow in other majors, too, most notably at the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock, where he shot a first-round 75, then rallied to win. Still, there’s this nugget: Only one player, according to NBC, has overcome Koepka’s current deficit after round one and won — Jack Fleck, in 1955. 

“Yeah, it just means I got to play really good the next three days,” Koepka said. “Go out tomorrow, morning conditions, hopefully it’s a little softer, little easier and play a little better. 

A reporter then asked: “Brooks, you see a couple 62s on the board before you even get a chance to tee off, does that change your mindset?” — to which he replied: “It doesn’t matter — playing the golf course, not them.”

And then he was off to the range. 

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