American Brooks Koepka won his first Major when he shot a wonderful final round of 67 to win the US Open by four shots
Brilliant Brooks Koepka Wins US Open
American Brooks Koepka won his first Major when he shot a wonderful final round of 67 to win the US Open by four shots.
Koepka had gone into the final round a shot off the lead held by Brian Harman and for long periods of the round they were locked together at the top of the leaderboard.
However Koepka, who played in the American Ryder Cup team last year, birdied 14, 15 and 16 to really grab the initiative and stretch away from his nearest competitors.
Below: Our Video Bio of Brooks Koepka before last year’s Ryder Cup
Harman’s round of 72 meant he finished tied 2nd and the left hander should be proud of the way he played in tricky conditions all week.
Alongside Harman at 12 under par was Hideki Matsuyama, the Japanese player having the best final round with a 66, which gave him a sniff of winning the title before Koepka’s late birdie blitz.
Englishman Tommy Fleetwood started the final round level with Koepka, but couldn’t find the same consistency he had found in the previous three rounds and his round of 72 meant he finished 4th.
Both Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas were well fancied to win before the start of the final round, but both players struggled to score as well had they had done earlier in the week.
Thomas who had shot a wonderful 63 on the Saturday never recovered from three bogeys in the opening five holes. While Fowler made too many mental errors and did well to finish level par for the round.
Thoughts from the champion. pic.twitter.com/LkY0Fh85uC
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 19, 2017
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Koepka ‘s score of 16-under-par equaled the record US Open 72-hole score set by Rory McIlroy in 2011. The Erin Hills course was much more playable than usual US Open courses, but whether the USGA stick with this sort of set up remains to be seen.
Koepka’s success was built from accuracy off the tee and when approaching the greens. He hit 88% of fairways and 62 out of 72 Greens In Regulation. It showed staying out of the deep rough was the way forward, as his putting stats were actually a little worse than average in the field.
How @BKoepka conquered golf's ultimate test. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/TSy8RjRy8x
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 19, 2017
Rickie Fowler has now played 30 Majors without a win, but has now finished top five in seven and this is the third times in five years he has finished top 10 at the US Open.
Final 2017 US Open Leaderboard
US Open
Erin Hills Golf Club, Wisconsin
June 15-18
Purse $14 million, Par 72
1 Brooks Koepka (USA) 67 70 68 67 272 $2,160,000
2 Hideki Matsuyama (Jap) 74 65 71 66 276 $1,052,012
2 Brian Harman (USA) 67 70 67 72 276 $1,052,012
4 Tommy Fleetwood (Eng) 67 70 68 72 277 $563,642*
5 Xander Schauffele (USA) 66 73 70 69 278 $420,334*
5 Bill Haas (USA) 72 68 69 69 278 $420,334*
5 Rickie Fowler (USA) 65 73 68 72 278 $420,334*
8 Charley Hoffman (USA) 70 70 68 71 279 $336,106*
9 Trey Mullinax (USA) 71 72 69 68 280 $279,524*
9 Brandt Snedeker (USA) 70 69 70 71 280 $ 279,524
9 Justin Thomas (USA) 73 69 63 75 280 $279,524*
Note: * Player signifies Titleist ball usage
This article Brilliant Brooks Koepka Wins US Open appeared first on Golf Monthly.