Koepka claims first major

He pulls away with par save on 13th hole, three straight birdies

ERIN, WIS. — Brooks Koepka had just tapped in a 20-inch putt to become the 117th U.S. Open champion, and he gave the moment a low-grade golf fist pump. Twice. That was it.

The celebration was about as muted as you’ll ever see from someone who just won their first major. His performance was anything but.

It capped a week in which the biggest names vanished after t wo rounds, l eaving the leaderboard a collection of rarely seen names. And, boy, there were a lot of them.

But in the end, a fourhole stretch of par and three birdies made Koepka a household name. This U.S. Open wasn’t lost; it was won by a 27-year-old Florida native who had only won one other PGA tournament.

“That’s probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced, and to do it on Father’s Day, it’s pretty neat,” Koepka said. “I didn’t exactly get my dad a card, so this works.” Brooks Koepka