AN OPEN BROOKS
Koepka credits strange path for meteoric rise
CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — Brooks Koepka had just f inished his press conference on Tuesday in advance of this week’s 147th British Open at Carnoustie and, for the enigmatic and painfully low-key Koepka, it qualified as a particularly enlightening and engaging session.
When it was over, The Post asked Koepka why — after winning the past two U.S. Opens, including last month at Shinnecock — he chose to skip opportunities to embark on the publicity tours major championship winners generally ta ke, including national late-night TV show appearances.
“If I could not come in here, I wouldn’t,’’ Koepka said, referring to the media center. “I’m not going to kiss any ass — kiss anybody in the media’s ass like a lot of people do. I’m going to stick to what I do. I’m going to do my thing and go about it the way I do. I’m not in it for attention. I’m not in it for anything other than to win.’’
Yet one of the platforms on which Koepka stood after his triumph at Shinnecock last month was the fact he felt overlooked and slighted as the defending champion. He spoke of how not seeing his name among the “notable’’ player lists on TV fueled his fire.
Koepka wants it both ways, which is f ine. Who doesn’t? An athlete should use whatever he or she can to create an edge that will enhance performance.
“I still feel that way,’’ Koepka said of being overlooked, even in the aftermath of becoming the first player to defend a U.S. Open title since Curtis Strange in 198889. “It’s kind of funny. Someone was showing me ESPN, the day we won, and they’ve got Odell Beckham dunking a basketball [on the website homepage]. It’s like, well, he should be able to. He’s like 6-2 and he’s got hops, we all know that. So what’s impressive about that?’’
Cert a i nly, not as impressive as winning consecutive U.S. Opens.
“I always try to f ind s o met h i n g where I feel like I’m kind of t he underdog and kind of put that little chip on my shoulder,’’ Koepka said. “Even if you’re No. 1, you’ve got to find a way to keep going and keep that little chip on and try to get better and better.’’
Most fa s c i n a t i ng a b o ut the 28-year-old Koepka’s career is its path. He has not traveled the same smooth track as some of his fellow 20-something American contemporaries such as Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler, to name a few.
Koepka, when he came out of Florida State, did not have the early successes Spieth, Thomas and Fowler had and thus didn’t earn PGA Tour playing status. So he opted for the Challenge Tour, which is the second division of the European Tour, similar to what the Web.com Tour is to the PGA. Eventually, after some success there, he graduated to the European Tour and now the PGA Tour.
He sounds like a guy who loved every minute of the grind and climb.
“It was the most exciting time of my l i fe,’ ’ he said. “I always felt I was good enough. I felt like there was certain steps I kind of had to take. At the time, I wanted to be, I guess, Jordan Spieth — go out there, get the exemptions [onto the PGA Tour]. But looking back, I don’t think I would be where I am today. I don’t think I’d be sitting here with two majors if I didn’t [take a different path].
“I think it really helped me grow as a person, grow my golf game. I knew that I had to go through the Challenge Tour and just work up that progression. I just embraced it. I think that’s where a lot of guys go wrong. You are where you are, and make the best of it. [Some] guys put their heads down and they’re like, ‘Well, I should be on the PGA Tour’ or ‘I should be on the European Tour.’ Well, guess what? You’re not.
“So you’ve got to suck it up where you’re at, make the best of it, and keep plugging along and try to win everything you can because eventually, if you’re good enough, you will get out here.’’
So here is Koepka, ranked No. 4 in the world, and a favorite to win this week, which would be a third major championship victory in his past six starts and second in a row.
Try turning yourself into an overlooked underdog with that lofty status attained.