Koepka quietly dominates major championships

BROOKS Koepka thinks he’s been overlooked in favor of other players in his age bracket such as Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth or Rory McIlroy.

Winning two majors in one summer is likely to change that but he might have been right about flying under the radar. It’s not just that Koepka has won three majors but he has been the most consistent player in those four tournaments over the last five years, posting 18 consecutive cuts and finishing among the top-15 in 13 of his last 17 major starts, including eight top-10s.

That streak began with a tie for fourth in the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst. In the 19 majors since, Kopeka (who missed starts in the 2016 Open because he wasn’t eligible and in this year’s Masters because of injury) has a scoring average of 70.13 and is a cumulative 57 under par.

Koepka has been under par in 39 of his 68 major rounds over that span (.573) and has shot in the 60s 30 times.

Only Spieth has matched his three major titles and 17 cuts. Only McIlroy has more top-10s (10). And no one has as many top-15 finishes.

“More attention to detail, more mentally focused, more ... every shot really, really means something,” he said of the difference in playing those four weeks. “Everyone on my team says I act a little different, the way

I approach it.

It’s very down to a routine this week, and other weeks ... not saying I vary from the routine, but it’s much more disciplined.”

Garcia struggling

One year after his Masters victory, Sergio Garcia was the only player to miss the cut in all four majors.

His missed cut last week at Bellerive also was his seventh this season, the most in his career. It was the fourth time this season he has missed the cut by one shot.

Garcia is now on the bubble to make the FedEx Cup playoffs. He’s 131st in points entering this week’s Wyndham Championship, the final regular-season event. He has never missed the playoffs since they began in 2007.

No records at Open

The British Open gets the distinction of being the only major this year where a significant scoring record was not set or tied.

The PGA Championship led the way at soft Bellerive Country Club, where Gary Woodland set the 36-hole tournament record at 130, and Koepka set the 72-hole record at 264. Both scores tied major championship records -- 130 is the record at the Masters (Spieth), U.S. Open (Martin Kaymer) and British Open (Brandt Snedeker, Nick Faldo).

Koepka and Charl Schwartzel tied the 18-hole PGA Championship record with 63. Also, Tony Finau tied Gary Player’s record in the PGA by making 10 birdies in one round. And if that wasn’t enough, Ben Kern shot 277 to set the PGA record for club pros.

At the Masters, Spieth tied the record for lowest final round with a 64. The final round at the Masters set a record for most rounds at par or better (42), most subpar rounds (34) and most rounds in the 60s (19).

And at the U.S. Open, Tommy Fleetwood tied the 18-hole record with a 63. It was only the sixth such score at the U.S. Open, and second in two years. Justin Thomas had a 63 at Erin Hills last year.