Brooks Koepka


Brooks Koepka is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour. In October 2018, he became World Number 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking after winning the 2018 CJ Cup. He won the U.S. Open in 2017 and 2018, and the PGA Championship in 2018 and 2019, becoming the first golfer in history to hold back-to-back titles in two majors simultaneously. He started his career on the European Challenge Tour and eventually the European Tour. He played college golf at Florida State University.
Koepka claimed his first major championship at the U.S. Open in 2017 at Erin Hills, Wisconsin. He successfully defended his title in 2018 at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island, the first golfer to win consecutive U.S. Opens since Curtis Strange in 1988 and 1989. He won his third major at the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club, shooting a major-championship-record-tying 264 over 72 holes. His 2018 victories in the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship were the first instance of that double since Tiger Woods in 2000. He won his fourth major at the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage Black.

Early years

Born in West Palm Beach, Florida, Koepka was raised in Lake Worth, and attended Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach.

Career

Amateur

He played college golf at Florida State University in Tallahassee, where he won three events and was a three-time All-American. He qualified for the 2012 U.S. Open as an amateur, but missed the cut by six strokes.

Professional

2012

In the summer of 2012, Koepka turned professional and began playing on the Challenge Tour in Europe. He won his first title in September at the Challenge de Catalunya.

2013

In 2013, he had his second victory on the Challenge Tour, winning the 2013 Montecchia Golf Open. He followed this a month later with his third win, the Fred Olsen Challenge de España, where he set the tournament record, 260, and won by a record 10 strokes.
Three weeks later, he had his third win of the year at the Scottish Hydro Challenge. With those three wins, he earned his European Tour card for the remainder of the 2013 season and for the full 2014 season. The day after his third Challenge Tour win of 2013, Koepka qualified for the 2013 Open Championship. Koepka made his debut as a member of the European Tour at the Scottish Open, finishing T12.

2014

On the 2014 PGA Tour, Koepka played a few events on sponsor's exemptions and through open qualifying. In his first event of the year, Koepka led after the second and third rounds of the Frys.com Open. He finished tied for third. At the U.S. Open, he collected a fourth-place finish, which earned him his first PGA Tour card, for the 2014–15 season, and his first Masters invitation. He was 15th at the PGA Championship, and was nominated for the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year award.
On the 2014 European Tour, Koepka won the Turkish Airlines Open and finished third at the Dubai Desert Classic and Omega European Masters, and ninth at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. He ranked 8th in the 2014 Race to Dubai rankings and was named the European Tour's Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year.

2015

On February 1, 2015, Koepka won his first PGA Tour event, the Waste Management Phoenix Open and moved to 19th in the Official World Golf Ranking.
At the 2015 Open Championship, Koepka improved every day and a final round 68 vaulted him into a tie for 10th at the Old Course at St Andrews. The next week, Koepka was tied for fourth after 54 holes at the RBC Canadian Open but a final round 74 pushed him down to a tie for 18th at the Glen Abbey Golf Course. He then tied for 6th at the 2015 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and tied for 5th at the 2015 PGA Championship. In 2015, he chose to give up his European Tour membership.

2017

In 2017, Koepka won his first major championship by claiming the U.S. Open title at Erin Hills, Wisconsin. His win tied him for the record of the lowest U.S. Open score at 16 under.

2018

Koepka had to undergo wrist surgery after the 2017 season and had hoped that his recuperation would be complete in time for the 2018 Masters Tournament but he had to withdraw, saying that he was only 80% fit. He recovered to successfully defend his U.S. Open title at Shinnecock Hills, becoming the first player since Curtis Strange in 1989 to win consecutive U.S. Open titles, which has occurred only seven times. He won his third major at the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club.
At the 2018 Ryder Cup, an errant tee shot by Koepka struck a female spectator and caused a globe rupture of her right eye resulting in her losing vision in that eye. Also at the Ryder Cup, it was rumored that Koepka and teammate Dustin Johnson got into a feud over some personal issues but Koepka denied these claims saying "This Dustin thing I don't get, There is no fight, no argument, he's one of my best friends. I love the kid to death and we talked on the phone Monday and yesterday and he told me how he thought. People like to make a story and run with it. It's not the first time there's been a news story that isn't true that has gone out."
On October 21, 2018, Koepka won the CJ Cup, and the win moved him to number one in the Official World Golf Ranking.

2019

On May 19, 2019, Koepka won the 2019 PGA Championship, the first to successfully defend the PGA Championship since Tiger Woods in 2007. With his win in this major championship, Koepka regained the #1 position in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Through the 2019 season, Koepka has made the cut in 92% of the major championships he's entered.
On July 28, 2019, Koepka won the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. By doing so, he won $1,745,000 and clinched the season-long Wyndham Rewards Top 10 Challenge and an additional $2,000,000.
On August 4, 2019, Koepka clinched the season-long Aon Risk Reward Challenge and another $1,000,000 for the 2018-19 season. This challenge selects one hole in every participating event and designates it as the Aon Risk Reward hole for that week. The challenge rewards the player who has the best two scores from every participating event that a player competes in throughout the season, measured by the lowest average score to par on these holes.
Koepka won the PGA of America Player of the Year award for the second consecutive year.
Koepka qualified for the 2019 Presidents Cup but withdrew because of a knee injury and was replaced by Rickie Fowler on November 20, 2019.
His caddie since 2013 is Ricky Elliott.

Personal life

Koepka's younger brother, Chase, is also a professional golfer. The two brothers played as partners in the 2019 Zurich Classic of New Orleans on the PGA Tour, the only Tour event using a team format.
His great uncle is Major League Baseball player Dick Groat.

Amateur wins (4)

PGA Tour wins (7)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1Feb 1, 2015Waste Management Phoenix Open−15 1 stroke Hideki Matsuyama, Ryan Palmer,
Bubba Watson
2Jun 18, 2017U.S. Open−16 4 strokes Brian Harman, Hideki Matsuyama
3Jun 17, 2018U.S. Open +1 1 stroke Tommy Fleetwood
4Aug 12, 2018PGA Championship−16 2 strokes Tiger Woods
5Oct 21, 2018CJ Cup−21 4 strokes Gary Woodland
6May 19, 2019PGA Championship −8 2 strokes Dustin Johnson
7Jul 28, 2019WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational−16 3 strokes Webb Simpson

PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
12016AT&T Byron Nelson Sergio GarcíaLost to par on first extra hole

European Tour wins (6)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1Nov 16, 2014Turkish Airlines Open−17 1 stroke Ian Poulter
2Jun 18, 2017U.S. Open−16 4 strokes Brian Harman, Hideki Matsuyama
3Jun 17, 2018U.S. Open +1 1 stroke Tommy Fleetwood
4Aug 12, 2018PGA Championship−16 2 strokes Tiger Woods
5May 19, 2019PGA Championship −8 2 strokes Dustin Johnson
6Jul 28, 2019WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational−16 3 strokes Webb Simpson

Japan Golf Tour wins (2)

Challenge Tour wins (4)

Major championships

Wins (4)

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order in 2020.
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

World Golf Championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
WD = Withdrew
NT = No tournament
"T" = Tied

U.S. national team appearances

Professional