Koepka’s trip around the world leads to major title at home
erin, Wis.
Before their names shared space on the silver U.S. Open trophy, Brooks Koepka and Jordan Spieth were together in a less attractive location.
Both failed by three shots to advance out of the second stage of qualifying school in Texas, leaving them with no status on any tour.
That was five years ago, and each went his own way.
Spieth, a U.S. Junior Amateur champion who won an NCAA title with Texas, received sponsor exemptions to PGA Tour and Web.com Tour events and rode a runner-up finish in the Puerto Rico Open to a meteoric year that ended with him on the Presidents Cup team at age 20.
Koepka began filling his passport.
One three-week stretch on the Challenge Tour took him from India to South Africa to Kenya. He played in Kazakhstan and Madeira Island, Finland and Belgium. He won in Italy and Spain, and he was on the verge of a third victory, this one in Scotland, that would earn him graduation to the European Tour.
And he was ready to come home. He called Blake Smith, his manager at Hambric Sports, and told him, “I don’t even want to play.” Brooks Koepka poses with the winning trophy after the U.S. Open golf tournament Sunday at Erin Hills in Erin, Wis.
“I don’t want to say homesick. I was just tired of golf. Tired of travelling,” Koepka said. “I just wanted to be home, even though I was about to win the third one. For some reason, I just wanted to get out and go home.”
He stayed. He won. And then he flew to London early the next morning and qualified for the British Open.
All of which made his U.S. Open victory Sunday at Erin Hills all the more special.
Koepka can’t count the miles he travelled after leaving Florida State, but he wouldn’t trade the path that led him to a major championship at age 27.
“I think it helped me grow up a little bit and really figure out that, ‘Hey, play golf, get it done and then you can really take this somewhere.’ And I built a lot of confidence off that,” Koepka said.
Those who saw him couldn’t ignore the sheer athleticism, raw power and quiet confidence.
“I kept telling people last year after the Ryder Cup,” Brandt Snedeker said, “when Brooks figures out how good he is, he’s going to be a world beater.”
He beat everyone at Erin Hills, and in the end, it wasn’t even close.
One shot behind going into the final round, Koepka didn’t miss a green until the par-3 13th - the only one he missed in the final round - and he saved par with an 8-foot putt that might have been more meaningful than the three straight birdie putts that followed.
“I needed to make that if I was going to win this tournament,” he said.
Brian Harman in the final group behind him made back-toback bogeys and couldn’t catch up. Hideki Matsuyama shot 66 but started too far back. Koepka closed with a 67 for a four-shot victory, the lowest final round by a U.S. Open champion since Tiger Woods at Pebble Beach in 2000 when he won by 15.
Only after he signed his card did Koepka realize a birdie on the par-5 18th would have broken another U.S. Open record at Erin Hills. He made par and finished at 16-under 272, matching the record to par by Rory McIlroy, who shot 16-under 268 at Congressional in 2011.
Philadelphia completed its trade for the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NBA draft, landing the pick from the Boston Celtics on Monday in a move that clears the way for the 76ers to grab guard Markelle Fultz.
Philadelphia will hold the No. 1 pick for the second straight year, and worked Fultz out on Saturday night as talks with the Celtics got to the final stages. It was agreed to in principle at that point, with the last holdup being the customary league approval on the terms.
Boston gets the No. 3 pick in Thursday’s draft from Philadelphia, plus either a first-rounder in 2018 and 2019. If the Los Angeles Lakers hold a pick between No. 2 and No. 5 next season, Boston gets that one. If not, Philadelphia will send Boston either its own first-rounder in 2019 or Sacramento’s firstrounder that year.
In short, Philadelphia gets the guard it wanted in Fultz, and Boston gets a draft-pick haul in exchange for sliding down only two spots this year.
“We are very pleased with the outcome of this trade, which puts us in the enviable position of selecting first overall in consecutive draft years,” 76ers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo said. “History suggests that No. 1 has the greatest odds of producing franchise-level talent and we are confident that this year’s draft class has that very potential.
“Thursday night will see us take another significant step toward building a successful and sustainable basketball program.” Washington’s Markelle Fultz (20) drives to the basket ahead of Southern California’s De’Anthony Melton during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, in Seattle. Fultz is expected to be a top pick at the NBA Draft on Thursday..
Boston president of basketball operations Danny Ainge told reporters that he believes the player the Celtics will now choose at No. 3 would be the same one they would have taken at No. 1 - with speculation being he will grab Kansas forward Josh Jackson, after Fultz goes No. 1 to Philadelphia and Lonzo Ball likely goes No. 2 to the Lakers.
“This is certainly a trade that is under the microscope more than others,” Ainge said. “But we’re not afraid of that.”
Philadelphia will select first for the second straight year. In 2016, the Sixers picked Ben Simmons, who didn’t play at all during the season after breaking a bone in his foot.
Fultz, barring something shocking, will join a core in Philadelphia that includes Simmons, Jahlil Okafor and 2017 Rookie of the Year finalists Joel Embiid and Dario Saric.