Three in a row? Koepka is pursuing history
PEBBLE BEACH — Brooks Koepka is chasing a slice of history this week, even if Koepka, like most golf fans, doesn’t know much about Willie Anderson.
Anderson is the only player to win the U.S. Open in three consecutive years. He achieved the feat in 1903-04-05, which helps explain why he remains a murky figure in the game’s long history.
“This would be the coolest thing, to win three in a row and win the third one at Pebble,” Koepka said Tuesday. “It’s such a special place. As a little kid, you always wanted to play a U.S. Open at Pebble.”
Koepka, the world’s topranked player, won the previous two Opens on long, sprawling courses: Erin Hills in Wisconsin in 2017 and Shinnecock Hills in New York last year. Pebble Beach presents a different challenge, given its relatively modest length (7,075 yards), tricky winds and tiny greens.
Koepka also won the PGA Championship in August and again last month, giving him victories in three of the past five majors (and four of the past nine).
As for Anderson — who was born in Scotland, emigrated to the U.S. at age 16 and died at 31 in 1910 — Koepka did cross paths with him, in a sense.
“It’s funny, we were in Scotland last year and saw his name on a building,” Koepka said. “I guess it’s where he used to live or something, which is pretty cool. But I don’t know too much about him. Obviously, that was a long, long time ago.”
So does Koepka like his chances of matching Anderson?
“I haven’t talked to anybody about going three in a row,” he said. “I’m not thinking about it. I know the odds are stacked against me.” Day’s mandate: Jason Day is a 12-time PGA Tour winner, including one major (the 2015 PGA Championship), and spent 51 weeks atop the world ranking.
And yet Day has “severely underachieved,” according to … Jason Day.
That’s what he said Tuesday, in explaining why he hired Steve Williams as his caddie. Williams has worked for Tiger Woods, Greg Norman and Adam Scott, among other accomplished players.
“I have to work on a few things, mentally and physically, with regards to my golf game,” said Day, 31. “But I think I’ve underachieved up until now. I feel like I’ve got a game that when it’s on, I can win most tournaments.”
Williams agreed to become Day’s full-time caddie, but he attached some conditions.
“He’s a no-BS kind of guy,” Day said. “He told me, ‘If you’re not working hard enough, I’m gone.’ So that’s incentive to go out and bust your butt.”