Koepka roars back in more ways than one
He overcomes physical ailments, 5-shot deficit to win Phoenix Open
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — At the lowest points in an 18-month struggle with left knee and hip problems, Brooks Koepka wondered if he’d ever be back at all, let alone recapture the magic that carried him to four major championships.
“It’s been a wild ride for the last year and a half and very frustrating,” Koepka said. “I’ve had moments where I didn’t know if I was going to be the same, if I could even come back.”
He looked as good as ever on the back nine Sunday in the Waste Management Phoenix Open, rallying for a victory that didn’t seem possible not that long ago.
“I went through it mentally,” Koepka said. “I think that’s probably the toughest thing, where you don’t know if you’re ever going to be the same competitor that you were. You go through some real dark places, and it’s not a fun place to be.”
It was sunny and fun Sunday in the desert, especially on the 17th hole. That’s where he chipped in from 32 yards for his second eagle of the day to break a tie for the lead. A routine par on the 18th gave him a one-stroke victory.
Five strokes behind Jordan
Spieth and Xander Schauffele entering the round, Koepka shot a 6-under 65 to finish at 19-under 265. He also won in 2015 at TPC Scottsdale for the first of his eight PGA Tour titles. On the 334-yard 17th, Koepka hit a fairway wood 305 yards to the fairway short and left of the green, then holed out to the largest roar of the day from the crowd limited to 5,000 a day.
“I felt like the chip, if I just caught it right in the fringe it was going to check up on me, and it did perfectly,” he said. “Took a nice little right kick for me, and didn’t look anywhere else but the hole.”
The crowd was a fraction of the usual size but the most on tour during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’ve missed the fans,” Koepka said. “Just being around fans is something else. I love it. I’ve played my best golf with fans, so just need to find something when they’re not there.”
SAUDI OPEN: In King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia, top-ranked Dustin Johnson won the Saudi International for the second time in three years on Sunday after shooting a 2-under 68 in the final round to finish two strokes clear of Justin Rose and Tony Finau.
Johnson, who was also runnerup in 2020, recorded his highest scoring round of the tournament at Royal Greens Golf Club but still finished top of the leaderboard on 15-under overall.
Scotland’s Calum Hill eagled the par-five 18th to finish in a tie for fourth with France’s Victor Perez, who is an ex-UNM Lobo.
Johnson took a two-shot lead into the final round but the Masters champion struggled on the greens and was caught by Finau when his fellow American made a hat-trick of birdies from the 11th.
However, Johnson edged back in front with a birdie on the 13th and was given some welcome breathing space when Finau dropped shots on the 16th and 17th and Perez double-bogeyed the 16th.
Johnson also dropped a shot on the 16th to see his lead cut to one, but responded in style with a massive tee shot on the next and a pitch to two feet to set up a decisive birdie.
“I saw the leaderboard a little bit, the guys were playing well but I kept giving myself a lot of chances,” Johnson told Sky Sports. “I didn’t hole many of them but finally holed a really nice putt on 13.
“Seventeen was a really nice birdie, hit a great drive there and a nice little chip but it was tough all day today.”