For the first time in U.S. Open history, the tournament was played in Wisconsin as Erin Hills. And for the first time in his history, Brooks Koepka captured a major title. Koepka shot an impressive 5 under 67 to surge ahead of a tight crowd at the top of the leaderboard on Sunday. His impressive end to the week put him at 16 under for the tournament, tying Rory Mcllroy’s U.S. Open record set back in 2011.
Mcllroy and Koepka played on very different courses in route to their record performances. Traditionally the U.S. Open is played on a narrow links course where players struggle to get under par for the tournament. Rory was the only player in the field to be double digits under par back in 2011. In contrast, Koepka was one of seven players 10 under or better for the week. For more on how different a course Erin Hills is check out my previous article.
The course layout shouldn’t overshadow Koepkas performance though. To surge ahead of a tight group on a Sunday and shoot 5 under is impressive no matter what course it happens on. Not to mention the company he had at the top of the leaderboard chasing him down. Ricky Fowler, who played excellent in the first and third rounds just couldn’t put together a complete week of golf to overpower Brooks. Justin Thomas might have been a favorite going into Sunday after shooting a 9 under for the third round. However, he couldn’t put together a complete tournament either.
The U.S. Open will be back next June (Jun 14-17). Next years tournament will be played at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, in Southhampton, N.Y. for the fifth time in the course’s history. Most recently Shinnecock Hills hosted the U.S. Open, won by Retief Goosen (-4), in 2004.
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