US Open golf won by Brooks Koepka
June 19, 2017
Brooks Koepka walked up to the eighteenth tee on Sunday afternoon with a comfortable lead over his nearest challenger, Brian Harman.
Koepka gave himself the decisive lead with a series of three birdies at the 14th, 15th and 16th holes and finished 16-under-par to match the record set by Rory McIlroy at the 2011 championship.
Hideki Matsuyama and Brian Harman finished four shots back on 12-under-par to take joint second place.
England's Tommy Fleetwood finished in fourth place one shot back.
It was only the third time in US Open history that the winning score was double digits under par.
With the world's top three players failing to make the mid-way cut, Hideki Matsuyama was the highest-ranked player left in the competition on Sunday. He ran off three birdies on five holes to start the back nine to move within two shots of the lead and finished third.
From Europe to the US Open
Koepka is a close friend and training partner of world number one and 2016 US Open champion Dustin Johnson.
The 27-year-old Koepka from Florida started his professional career in Europe in 2012 before gaining mainstay status on the US PGA tour. He finished in joint fourth place at last year's PGA Championship.
Koepka admitted to Golf Digest in 2015 his preference for baseball: "If I could do it over again, I'd play baseball - 100 percent, no doubt," he said. "To be honest, I'm not a big golf nerd." he added. "Golf is kind of boring, not much action. I come from a baseball family."
Wisconsin Erin Hills, near Milwaukee, is the longest course in US Open history, and has been newly formed from farmland. There are 7,693 yards (7,034 meters) of tumbling fairways and deep bunkers - 158 yards more than the Augusta National Golf Club, which hosts the Masters tournament each year.
Low scores
Justin Thomas became the first man to shoot a nine-under-par round at the US Open and only the fifth 63 in its 117-year history.
Only six players had ever reached 10-under par at any point in a US Open in the 116 previous championships. Seven players reached 10 under or better this week - Koepka, Brian Harman, Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood, Rickie Fowler, Charley Hoffman and Hideki Matsuyama.
jm/es (Reuters, AP)