PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA | On a shuttle bus wandering through the forest surrounding Pebble Beach Golf Links, the driver was running through the various potential winners of this U.S. Open, ticking off the familiar seven or eight names – Woods, Johnson, McIlroy, etc.
He never mentioned Brooks Koepka.
Neither did a commercial Fox Sports did promoting its coverage of this U.S. Open, where Koepka is the two-time defending champion and trying to become only the second player ever to win three consecutive U.S. Opens, joining Willie Anderson from more than a century ago.
Koepka heard about the Fox commercial via social media (where else these days?) and, well, there it was. Or, there he wasn’t.
“I just clicked on the link and saw it and watched it. Just kind of shocked. They’ve had over a year to kind of put it out. So I don’t know. Somebody probably got fired over it or should,” Koepka said, a hint of a smile showing through.
Surely the world appreciates what Koepka is in the midst of doing, having won four major championships in the past 24 months.
This is more than a good run.
“This is who he is,” Jordan Spieth said.
Koepka is an exceptional player in his prime. There has been a tendency to explain what he has done (he wins on long, difficult courses the reasoning goes) more than appreciate it. That’s getting it backward.
He’s that good, at least in major championships, which are the currency of greatness. Koepka has a gift for simplifying the game and majors, brushing away the superfluous stuff and focusing on the singular task of hitting one good shot after another. It’s not easy but it’s not complicated either.
Koepka thrives on challenge, often telling himself he can’t do something in order to prove himself wrong. It’s a simple mind game but it motivates him.
Justin Thomas said earlier this week he will try to “channel his inner BK” at Pebble Beach this week. Koepka said he doesn’t know what Thomas meant by that but it sounds like a guy trying to tap into someone else’s mojo. No one better to borrow from than Koepka these days.
Koepka thrives on challenge, often telling himself he can’t do something in order to prove himself wrong. It’s a simple mind game but it motivates him.
He understands the opportunity that awaits him at Pebble Beach this week but Koepka hasn’t spent time researching Willie Anderson. He hasn’t even Googled him.
“It’s funny, we were in Scotland, I think it was last year, and we saw his name on a building I guess where he used to live or something like that, which is pretty cool. But I don’t know too much about him. Obviously that was a long, long time ago. What was it, a hundred years?” Koepka said.
It’s been 114 years, if you’re counting.
And, if you’re wondering the last thing Koepka Googled, it was how to change your phone number. Somehow his cell number got out and he found himself getting flooded with texts this week. So much for his intentionally low-key celebrity.
Koepka isn’t hiding from his run at three in a row, particularly embracing the idea of winning at Pebble Beach where U.S. Open legends have taken flight. It’s a place to stop and stare unless you’re inside the ropes and even then Koepka likes to look around.
This week will be similar to other major championship weeks, tucking into a rented house with his girlfriend, coach, trainer and cook, turning off golf when he leaves the course each day. Between the Stanley Cup Final and the NBA Finals, there’s plenty to keep Koepka occupied but he will check in on U.S. Open television coverage from time to time.
When Koepka won the PGA Championship last month at Bethpage Black, he nearly squandered a seven-stroke lead in the final round. All but one stroke of his lead had disappeared when he walked to the 15th tee in the final round, fighting to hold off his buddy Dustin Johnson.
Koepka, the definition of coolness under pressure, was rattled by four straight bogeys.
“I was stunned. I was kind of shocked and in awe for about an hour there,” Koepka said.
As unsettling as the final nine holes were, the long-term benefit to Koepka could be invaluable. He won the hard way, fighting with himself as much as with the course and his competitors. Koepka was forced to hit the reset button and it worked.
“Now I know how to do that under pressure,” Koepka said. “I know how to do that and really handle myself and kind of right the ship. I think that’s going to be important going forward. I was lucky enough to win it. But a U.S. Open is a different test.”
This U.S. Open is very different from the ones at Erin Hills and Shinnecock Hills, where Koepka won on big, brawny layouts. Pebble Beach is short by modern standards, measuring 7,075 yards and framed by thick, gnarly rough. Koepka will hit his driver only a handful of times each round, theoretically reducing the advantage his power gives him.
Still, the equation is the same in Koepka’s mind.
“There’s so much pressure. There’s so many guys that shoot themselves out of it just because it’s a major. They change their game plan from a normal week to this week, added pressure of ‘I’ve got to play well this week,’ ” Koepka said.
“You never know what’s going to happen. Yes, it is a shorter golf course, but you’ve still got to find the fairway. You’ve still got to hit it close, and you still have to make putts.”
It’s simple, the way Koepka approaches it, understanding that moments like this rarely come along. If, after all he has accomplished, the focus falls elsewhere, that’s just the way it is.
Last week in Canada, Koepka and his trainer were in a gym where Johnson had worked out earlier. A guy in the gym was chirping about working out alongside Johnson and how cool it had been.
All while the No. 1 player in the world quietly went about his business.
“I just laughed,” Koepka said.