U.S. Open always home for Koepka

BROOKLINE, Mass. — As Brooks Koepka strode down the first fairway on a humid Friday morning, one fan shouted his approval of the golfer’s clothing.

“It’s a great day to wear white, Brooks. It’s hot out here,” the fan yelled. “Stay cool, baby, but don’t be afraid to get hot.”

Koepka, wearing a white shirt, navy slacks and a pale-green cap in the second round of the U.S. Open, heeded the fan’s advice, rebounding from an opening-round 73 to post a 3-under-par 67.

That put him at even par after two rounds and in a familiar position — within striking distance of the lead heading into the weekend at the Country Club. Koepka had made the cut in his past seven U.S. Opens and finished no worse than tied for 18th.

But it didn’t last Saturday. Koepka is currently 5-over after shooting 5over 75 and fell into a five-way tie for 40th.

Koepka, who won the U.S. Open in 2017 with a score of 16 under par and won again in 2018, speaks almost paternalistically about the Open. His schedule this season has been tilted toward the majors — those are the only events he has played since late March — and he seems to thrive on the challenges presented by this particular tournament.

“I love this event,” he said. “This event has always been good to me.”

It’s hard to argue otherwise. Koepka is the most successful U.S. Open player of the past decade.

No one else in the 156-man field has won two U.S. Opens. The past four times he has played the tournament — he missed the Open in 2020 because of knee and hip injuries — he had two victories, in 2017 and 2018; a second-place finish in 2019; and a tie for fourth in 2021, finishes that have earned Koepka more than $6 million. In those four events, only four players — Gary Woodland, Jon Rahm, Louis Oosthuizen and Harris English — have finished ahead of Koepka.

“That’s pretty cool,” Koepka said. “I wish it was less.”

He is one of only seven players to win consecutive U.S. Opens; the last to do it before Koepka was Curtis Strange in 1988 and 1989.

But given his lack of tournament play this year, it was difficult to predict how well the 32-year-old, fourtime major champion — he had back-to-back PGA Championship victories in 2018 and 2019 — would fare. He missed the cut at the Masters. And he attributed his underwhelming performance at the PGA Championship in May — a tie for 55th — to focusing more on his upcoming wedding.

“I was waiting for that party,” he said of the weeklong celebration in early June in Turks and Caicos.

Afterward, Koepka retreated to his home in Jupiter, Fla., worked for four days with his caddie, Ricky Elliott, and dismissed any talk of rustiness from his layoff when he arrived at the Country Club.

Koepka became irritated with reporters at his pretournament news conference Tuesday, chiding them for asking him and other golfers questions about the LIV Golf International series, the Saudi-financed rebel golf tour that has lured stars such as Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson with enormous paydays.

“I’m here. I’m here at the U.S. Open,” Brooks Koepka said when asked about LIV Golf. “You are all throwing this black cloud over the U.S. Open. I’m tired of all this stuff.”