Brooks Koepka became only the seventh player to ever win back-to-back U.S. Opens on Sunday joining a group that includes Curtis Strange, Ben Hogan, Ralph Guldahl, Bobby Jones, John McDermott and Willie Anderson. Koepka outdueled a game Tommy Fleetwood, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Tony Finau.
A two-putt bogey on the 72nd hole does it. @BKoepka is the 118th #USOpen champion, and the first back-to-back champion since 1989! pic.twitter.com/DaWUiRGHCw
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 17, 2018
“To be honest with you, I probably couldn’t have dreamed of it in my wildest dreams,” Koepka said in his post-round press conference. “I’m at a loss for words right now, but it’s really incredible. I mean, I couldn’t be happier. We grinded our tail off this week to come back from 7-over and do what we did. It was pretty special.”
Shooting 75 in the opening round at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, Koepka was 7-over par 25 holes into the championship, but turned his whole week around over the next 11 holes to head to the weekend at 1-over par, the score he would eventually win at.
Koepka officially made his title defense known on the controversial third day of the event, shooting a 2-over par 72 to hold a share of the 54-hole lead along with Dustin Johnson, Daniel Berger and Tony Finau.
Another look at the history made by Brooks Koepka on Sunday. ??? pic.twitter.com/daQqxwiS3O
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 18, 2018
On a tough Sunday, Koepka again stepped up to the plate taking control of the tournament with three birdies in his first five holes. From there, the rest of the field was playing catch-up. Tommy Fleetwood, who had posted 2-over par and was waiting in the clubhouse, was the standard of which Koepka was ultimately battling.
Trading birdies and bogeys over the next 12 holes, Koepka came to the 18th at Shinnecock with a two-stroke lead and was able to play conservatively after a wayward second shot to post 1-over par, a number that couldn’t be matched by the final pairing of Finau and Berger.
“It’s incredible,” Koepka said of winning his second U.S. Open. “I looked at all these names (on the U.S. Open trophy) a million times it felt like last year, just looking at everybody. To have my name on there twice is pretty incredible, and to go back-to-back is even more extraordinary. It feels so special.”
