The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Koepka storms to his first major title
Rivals couldn’t live with American after triple birdie blitz over closing stretch clinches US Open
American Brooks Koepka eased away from the rest of the field over the closing holes to take his first major and become US Open chmpion at Erin Hills this morning.
Koepka grabbed the championship by the scruff of the neck and kept knocking in birdie putts as his rivals fell away and seemed comfortable with the tag of final round leader, shooting a superb 67 to finish on 16 under.
His nearest rival, fellow American Brian Harman, closed to within three shots of Koepka over the closing holes but bogeyed the last to finish on 12 under.
England’s Tommy Fleetwood didn’t fall away, but he was scrambling pars rather than knocking in birdies.
Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama was clubhouse leader for a time after shooting a magnificent 66 to finish on twelve under par.
But it was 27-year-old Koepka’s three birdies in a row from the 14th hole which broke the spirit of the chasing pack.
Rickie Fowler struggled with all parts of his game, shooting a level par 72 to finish on 10 under.
Koepka looked almost apologetic as he rolled in his par putt on the 18th, but the emotion hit him as he was driven on a golf cart with his girlfriend to the scorer’s room to check his card.
Earlier former champion Jordan Spieth was among the interested spectators.
Despite winds gusting up to 25mph which forced tournament officials to change the pin position on the par-three 13th, Spieth showed what was still possible with a closing 69.
Previous rounds of 73, 71 and 76 meant the 23-year-old was finished before the final few groups teed off, but that allowed him to watch the tournament come to an exciting close.
Spieth had struggled on the greens all week at Erin Hills and both of his bogeys yesterday came from three-putting, but the former world No 1 was pleased not to have “thrown in the towel”.
“I thought it was a fantastic round of golf, given what we were dealing with to start the day,” the 23-year-old said.
“This (wind) is light and variable compared to the beginning of the day, but that’s what you get for playing a poor first few rounds.
“I struck the ball the same way I have been. I think I hit 17 greens today which was just awesome in these conditions. And then my expectations were lowered on the greens given the conditions. I think that was the difference.
“I was able to get to a few under by just accepting the fact that the putt might miss instead of having to have it be perfect.
“That’s what we’ve been working on, but maybe a day like today is all it needed to just kind of calm down.”
Scotland’s Martin Laird closed with a one-over 73 to finish level par.
Fleetwood was hoping to become the third English winner since 1924 after Tony Jacklin (1970) and Justin Rose (2013), but his putter was just a little too cold. However, the world number 33 will see his ranking rise today.
Thomas meanwhile had equalled the lowest score in major championship history with a stunning 63 on Saturday, a nine-under-par round which was also the lowest in relation to par in a US Open.
The 23-year-old had a great week though, but a closing 75 saw him drop out of contention.
Meanwhile China’s Li Haotong demonstrated what could go wrong as he struggled to an 84 which contained two birdies, two double bogeys, a triple bogey and seven bogeys,six of which came in succession from the third.