On Sunday, American Brooks Koepka became the seventh man in history to win the U.S. Open two consecutive times. Beating England’s Tommy Fleetwood by just one-stroke at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island.
The 28-year-old picked up his second major title in just his fifth tournament back after a wrist injury kept him out of play for three months. With his latest win Koepka soars to number four in the world rankings and proves he is not a player to be dismissed.
“This in incredible. I don’t think I could have dreamed of going back-to-back. It’s truly special and I am honoured,” Koepka told reporters afterwards.
Adding, “I always felt like I had a chance. I was never out of it. I just needed to keep grinding. I knew the conditions would ease up a bit and I took advantage of it.”
Runner-up Tommy Fleetwood might not have won on Sunday but the Englishman’s astounding appearance at the major has well and truly put him on everyone’s watchlist. The 27-year-old became only the sixth golfer in history to shoot a 63 at the U.S. Open, one shot short of matching Braden Grace’s 62 at last year’s tournament, and a feat all the more impressive given the difficulty of Shinnecock Hills.
“Just getting that close [to a 62] is the ultimate thing that I will take from this. It’s nice as a golfer to have that hard work start paying off. Hopefully this is just one stage in me winning majors,” said Fleetwood.
Sunday marked Fleetwood’s highest finish at a major and gained at the golfer from Southport high praise from Koepka, who told reporters, “he’s an incredible player. He’ll definitely be holding some major championships here soon.”
Here’s a look at Koepka’s winning bag:
Driver:
TaylorMade M4
Fairway Wood: TaylorMade M2 Tour HL
Irons: Nike Vapor Fly Pro;
Mizuno JPX-900 Tour
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM7 Raw
Putter: Scotty Cameron T10 Select Newport 2 prototype
Ball:
Titleist Pro V1x