On the day that should’ve been the final round of the U.S. Open, Brooks Koepka played like a two-time U.S. Open champion at the RBC Heritage.
Koepka made two eagles and closed with 6-under 65, his low round of the week, and recorded his first top-10 finish since the Tour Championship in August.
“It’s been an incredibly long time for me to be in contention,” said Koepka, who finished seventh. “It just felt good to be back in the swing of things.”
Koepka, 30, shot four rounds in the 60s at Harbour Town Golf Links and eight in a row since the golf season resumed at Colonial last week. Koepka made his first eagle at the par-5 fifth, draining a 25-foot putt, but it was a 330-yard drive to 3 feet at the par-4 ninth that even left Koepka impressed.
“I’m surprised it ended up there. I got a nice little hop left, kind of killed it on that upslope,” he said. “I’ll take that.”
Then came a weather delay, which allowed Koepka the chance to check social media. He noticed a video of his tee shot at the ninth hole and re-tweeted it with the comment: “Fascinating stuff out there.”
That was meant as a dig at CBS commentator Nick Faldo, who in response to Koepka’s declaration that commentators should “shut up and listen,” did just that on Friday during one of Koepka’s tee shots and heard crickets from Koepka. Faldo broke the silence with “Fascinating stuff.”
When play resumed, Koepka looked to make a serious bid for the title with birdies at Nos. 10 and 11, but he lipped out from 5 feet for birdie at 15 and that sealed his fate.
“I was trying to get to 21 (under). That was the goal, but I didn’t putt very well today,” he said. “It was as disappointing of a 65, I guess, I could have.”
But the positives outweighed the negatives for Koepka, who says he was trending in the right direction at the Players when the season was suspended. Koepka worked hard with instructor Claude Harmon III during the break and said the extended layoff allowed his knee injury time to heal properly.
“It just feels like I haven’t been healthy for a very long time,” he said. “Finally able to do things I wasn’t able to do for a very, very long time.”
Koepka’s putter may have let him down in crunch time, but he enjoyed feeling the “juices flowing,” again, and his good form renewed his belief that better days are ahead.
“I feel very close,” he said. “I feel like I’m knocking on the door of winning.”
