Koepka’s biggest feat as No. 1 is journey to get there
Reaching No. 1 in the world felt even sweeter to Brooks Koepka because of how he got there.
Golf is about winning, and the world ranking is merely a result of that. For all the math involved in a formula that tries to measure performance over two years, it’s a lot easier to understand when the new No. 1 is posing with a trophy.
Dustin Johnson knows that feeling. So does Rory McIlroy.
“I always wanted to earn my way to No. 1 in the world,” Koepka said after his four-shot victory at the CJ Cup in South Korea. “And I felt like if I played and won, that would be exactly how I could draw it up.”
Justin Rose would have preferred it that way instead of reaching No. 1 last month by missing a 4-foot putt to lose in a playoff at the BMW Championship. Tiger Woods got to No. 1 for the first time with a tie for 19th in the 1997 U.S. Open. There were no fist pumps that day.
Lee Westwood and Nick Faldo did not even play the week they rose to No. 1.
Of the 23 players who ascended to the top of the world ranking, Koepka became the 11th to get there for the first time by winning.
Nick Price remains the only player to reach No. 1 for the first time by winning a major, the 1994 PGA Championship at Southern Hills. Vijay Singh had one of the more gratifying moments in 2004 when he not only ended the five-year reign of Woods by winning the Deutsche Bank Championship, he played with Woods in the final group.
Ultimately, though, it’s all about getting there.
And that’s why it was such a big deal for Koepka. As much as he was trending as the best player in the world — especially after a double major season — there is no guarantee of being No. 1 until your name is at the top of the 8,712 others listed in the Official World Golf Ranking.
This was the sixth tournament where Koepka had a chance to reach No. 1.
He was poised to get there at the start of the FedEx Cup playoffs until Johnson birdied his last four holes for a 61 to stay No. 1 by a slim margin. The next week, Johnson closed with a 64 to finish one shot ahead of Koepka. And the following week, Rose went from No. 4 to No. 1 with his playoff loss in the BMW Championship.
Koepka shot 78 in the second round