GolfPlus- Dec19 Digital Edition (Dec 19) | Page 39

Brooks Koepka
ABOVE: Koepka
is finally getting
the attention
and credit he
deserves from
the fans and
media alike.
“You know, to get chosen for that, you have to be one
of the best in your sport. So obviously, I’m doing
something right on the golf course, and it’s fun. Getting
naked’s a bit weird; the fi rst time you actually pull that
robe off in front of 30, 40 people, [but] it was something
I enjoyed. I was looking forward to it for months. It’s
something I defi nitely don’t regret. It’s been enjoyable to
see the pictures over the last couple of months and see all
the hard work I put into it and see the results.”
It’s also true that those physical attributes come in
handy inside the ropes.
“Muscle structure is massive to do what he does,” says
Koepka’s long-time coach Pete Cowen, who fi rst formed a
bond with him during Koepka’s early days as a pro. “He
has some of the best shoulders in the game.”
Cowen likens Koepka’s broad shoulders to that of a
transmission on a race car, meaning they’re the link
between the application of power between the engine and
the wheels, or what most helps him generate the kind of
speed and accuracy that allowed Koepka to lead the fi eld
at Bethpage Black in strokes gained/off-the-tee and in
approach during the PGA.
Length has been a consistent trait from one generation
of the game’s best to another – from Jack Nicklaus to
Greg Norman to Tiger Woods – and Koepka isn’t any
different in that regard. Given the state of the modern
game, it’s an ability that will continue to prove invaluable
as courses continue to get longer and more diffi cult.
Koepka’s bomb-and-gouge approach, however, means
that when he does hit one off line, it’s not quite the penalty
it once was. A short iron from the long grass is even more
deadly than a mid-iron from the fairway, and improved
wedge play and putting have paid off tremendously as
well.
So too, perhaps, has Koepka’s willingness to show he’s
not just comfortable in showing skin but that he’s
increasingly comfortable in his own, too, which is simply
yet another step in the evolutionary process of the player
that he has become. That, too, took time.
Slights and haters
Early on in his career on tour, Koepka’s responses were
often limited in the size and scope to enquiries from the
media, often met with at best indifference and at worst
pesky annoyance.
There were also slights, real and perceived that he used
as motivation. Athletes across every sport of course use
this tactic to create a chip on their shoulders and give
them an edge on game day. Golf, however, isn’t as familiar
with that. Koepka, though, has been fending off the
haters since his college days.
Once he was a professional, it wasn’t any different.
After his 2017 US Open victory at wide-open Erin Hills,
many were dismissive because of the conditions. Following
an opening 68 in the next year’s US Open, there wasn’t a
single media request.
Then there was the 2018 US Open. After the fi rst
round, Koepka didn’t make the notables page on the
leaderboard.
At the PGA later that summer, when Koepka was
brought to the media tent for a pre-tournament interview
session, just 15 reporters showed up – compared to a
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DECEMBER
2019
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