Brooks Koepka on his major mindset, PGA triumphs
Brooks Koepka has been a menace at the PGA Championship. Three wins, two of them back-to-back and he arrives at Valhalla this week as the defending champion, having triumphed by three strokes over Viktor Hovland.
Koepka may be playing as a member of LIV Golf but it hasn’t seemed to hurt his reputation as a big-game hunter. His win at the PGA at Oak Hill was his third time winning the Wanamaker Trophy and lifted him into rare company of those players with at least five majors to his credit. That includes winning two majors in 2018 at the U.S. Open and PGA.
“After doing so, I bought my entire team a Rolex. When I look back at that, it is one of the most special watches that I have. It has ‘Back-to-back Champs’ engraved on the back,” Koepka said. “I know it means a lot to me and I always think it is really cool when I see the rest of my team wearing their watch on their wrists.”
Koepka, a Rolex testimonee who has been sporting a white Daytona model for the past few years, took part in a Q&A that covered his success at the PGA, his major mindset and much, much more.
Q: With your 2023 PGA Championship victory at Oak Hill you joined Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to win three PGA titles in the stroke-play era. How does it feel to be mentioned alongside such iconic figures in the sport?
BK: To be named alongside Jack and Tiger is surreal. I don’t think even as a kid I dreamed that I would make it this
far. The fact that I have been as successful as I have is kind of crazy. It is still mind-boggling to me that I am mentioned with those names. I still cannot wrap my head around that but anytime you are mentioned alongside those two icons, you are definitely doing something right!
Q: With this victory you also became the 20th player in the sport’s history to win five majors. Can you describe your emotions in that moment?
BK: Very grateful. I think the fifth major title meant the most to me given everything that I had been through with injury and coming back from that. I also had my whole team there, which was pretty special.
We are always chasing Jack and Tiger, but in today’s age that is very tough to do and probably won’t be done again.
There are only a few people who have won more than one major championship, so to win five feels incredible. I still feel like I am living in a dream, so hopefully I don’t wake up.
Q: This victory marked the third time in five years that you won a major championship in the state of New York, having triumphed at the 2018 U.S. Open and the 2019 PGA Championship? What is it about these courses and environment that bring out the best in your game?
BK: I wish I knew! I do like New York. And I guess, I enjoy the loudness of the fans too. They love to cheer for you when things are going well. I have always enjoyed the ups and downs and the energy that the New York fans bring, so maybe that has something to do with my success there. I wouldn’t mind playing another few major championships in New York but hopefully my luck turns and I can get a win in Georgia and one overseas too.
Q: Could you share a memorable moment or particular shot from any of your PGA Championship victories that still resonates with you today?
BK: For me, the one memory that I always go back to was at Bellerive at the 2018 PGA Championship. Funnily enough, there were two Rolex Testimonees coming down the stretch – Adam Scott and Tiger. These were my two idols growing up and they were always the guys that I wanted to be like – I mean who does not want to swing it like Adam Scott? He is just a classy guy and I think anyone who has ever met him will attest to that. And with Tiger, not much else needs to be said! To battle it out with those guys was special. I hit a 4 iron on a par-3 on the 16th hole that went to about 8 feet from the pin and I think that is probably the best shot that I have hit under pressure. It is a memory that I often go back to and try to re-create.
Q: Looking ahead to the 106th edition of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club, you have a chance to defend your title. Something that you successfully achieved in 2019. Will your preparation be any different for the 2024 tournament returning as the defending champion?
BK: I hope not because whatever I am doing seems to be working and I am doing all right at those PGA Championships. Hopefully I will play well and it will be nice because I have now reached an age where you go back to the same golf courses. I guess that shows I have been around for a little bit which is cool. I am excited for Valhalla in Kentucky. It’s a great championship and I love it, so hopefully I can defend my title, but even the prospect of winning three back-toback titles is crazy to think of.
Q: How do you manage the pressure and expectations while defending your title at the PGA Championship?
BK: I wish I knew and that I could do it more often. I just enjoy the big stage, when the spotlight is on and when things are more difficult. The major championships really test who is the best; who has “it” and who doesn’t. As they say in other sports, I am someone who wants the ball with a few seconds to go and that is something that I have had in me since I was a little kid. When I look back at success, I think success is defined by the major championships. They are the one thing that set you apart in this game and to win as many of these tournaments as possible has always been my goal.
Q: In 2018 you became just the second golfer to successfully defend the U.S. Open title in the modern era, following in the footsteps of Curtis Strange, whose second victory was also made in the state of New York, 34 years ago. You were also the first golfer to win consecutive titles in two majors simultaneously. Can you describe how this feels to go down in the history books forever?
BK: I like the way you phrased that – I could hear that all day! It just feels incredible and like a dream that I hopefully don’t wake up from. As a kid, I dreamed of being able to play golf and do it successfully. I still feel like a kid in that sense and hopefully it stays that way for a long time.
Q: How does your preparation differ for major tournaments compared to regular tour events?
BK: I would not say I do anything differently but there is a slight difference in mental approach when it comes to major championships. I know that they are tougher events. I enjoy events that are tough from the start. Every shot is amplified more at the major championships. When you arrive on the Sunday before or that Monday, you immediately know you are at a major championship. It is in the air and you really feel it. It just adds a little bit of extra pressure and I love that.
Q: It will be 10 years since you last played at Pinehurst Golf Club in a U.S. Open. How much can you learn from your tied for fourth finish back in 2014? And how do you adjust your game to suit the specific challenges of that course?
BK: I believe they redid the course just before we played there last time in 2014 so no one really knew what to expect that year unless they did a scouting trip beforehand. With Pinehurst being an hour-and-a-half flight from where I am now, and with my wife and her family being from upstate Georgia, I would not be surprised if we were to go visit her family and take a trip over there to play some golf.
Pinehurst is a links-style golf course. Martin Kaymer put away the U.S. Open field last time there in 2014. I played really well that year – there’s nothing wrong with fourth place at a major championship – so I am hoping to build on that success and experience.
Q: In 2018 you became world No. 1 and stayed at the top for 47 weeks. Becoming world No. 1 is a pinnacle achievement in golf. How did reaching that rank influence your approach to the game and your long-term goals?
BK: In terms of long-term goals, I want to get to double digits in major titles. I think that 10 titles is very attainable. That goal is something that I have had to change, which I guess is the key to success. You always have to keep moving the goalposts to stay motivated and hungry for more. You have to set goals that you can attain but also some goals that are far away, so you have something that you are working towards every day.
To be at world No. 1 for 47 weeks was special. I cannot even remember how many weeks Tiger Woods has been ranked world No. 1, which is an insane amount, but just to be the best at your profession is a very weird feeling. When I was chasing it, I did not know what to think. But when I finally got there, it was like “I’ve made it” and that was the coolest feeling in the world. It was a very important milestone for me in my career and I was very happy to get there.
Q: Can you tell us about the mindset and approach that has enabled you to claim five major championships so far?
BK: One thing that has stood out to me is that I own who I am. I am unapologetically myself. I am super competitive, and I hate losing. I often think about the Michael Jordan scenario where he had this slight against everybody and replicate that in my own head. I can pretty much tell you about anytime that I have lost to anybody, and in golf we all know that the sport is a game of failure where you don’t get the opportunity to win that often, so when you do, you need to capitalize. I draw up the similar scenario in my head of every time that person I’m competing against has beaten me so I don’t add to the list.
Q: Who has been the biggest influence on your golf career?
BK: There are different people. When I was younger, it was probably my dad, getting to play with him and my brother definitely played a huge part in that, in terms of why I got started, fell in love with the game and developed the aspirations to do this.
When you get older and you start to evolve, there was a coach I had that really took me from falling in love with golf to having the passion to want to do it every day.
It is tough to narrow it down to one person who was the biggest influence because there are different phases of your life where different people step in and take a stranglehold on you as a person. Those two or three people were the reason that I started playing and now it is a lot different.
I just had a baby in the past year so everything that I do now is to show a good example to him and hopefully get him to fall in love with this sport.
Q: What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
BK: It was probably after the Masters in 2023. I think that I have always learnt from defeat well and that is something that has helped my success. After losing, I came back to my house and there were a lot of people there.
As you can imagine, after losing, you don’t always want to see everybody, but I sat out back with my best friend for six or seven hours and I will never forget the moment when he said: “Don’t ever be afraid to win.”
I think that was something that stuck with me and definitely at the PGA Championship a month later. It was also something that stuck with me not just in golf but in life too as the two are so closely related.
Q: You get to play on some of the best courses in the world on the PGA Tour. What is your favorite course and why?
BK: This one is easy for me. It has to be St Andrews, the Home of Golf. It is the place where I feel the most butterflies and I feel that tingle – I even feel it now just thinking about it. I love that course. I think it is so unique in the fact that you can play it one day and you literally walk past a bunker and think “why is that bunker here?” and then play it the next day and the wind direction has completely changed and your ball is right in that bunker! I think that is the beauty of it. For me, links golf has always been quite special and something that I have enjoyed playing because I did not grow up playing it in Florida and the United States. Links golf brings out the creative side of golf and I really like that.
Q: How do you like to relax and spend time away from the golf course?
BK: It has evolved over the years. One thing I have always enjoyed doing is getting on the boat and going fishing, but honestly, right now, the coolest thing for me is just coming home and spending time with my baby boy.
It’s something that I have cherished, and it has definitely changed me as a person.
I’ve come to appreciate the smaller things in life, and I’ve been very fortunate. He is a great kid and I cannot wait to experience life with him.