Brooks Koepka’s legendary ‘chip on the shoulder’ attitude shows no sign of being eaten away as the five-time Major champion feels he’s still not being shown the respect his game and achievements warrant.
A long-term knee injury combined with a loss of form on the greens saw Koepka begin to slide down the world rankings and when LIV came calling, the opportunity to make a guaranteed big payday and to team up with his brother was just too tempting to pass up, and any viewers of Netflix’ Full Swing series could see that the then four-time major winner was in a dark place regarding his game.
But a return to full fitness and two LIV Golf victories – one coming the week before – saw him arrive at Augusta National strutting his stuff like the Brooks of old, confident, calculated, and on the back of months of criticism following his defection, with a point to prove.
He’d fall short at the Masters, finishing runner-up to Jon Rahm, but the killer instinct had fully returned by the time 2023’s second major rolled around and he was back to his ruthless best at Oak Hill. His third PGA Championship title, combined with two U.S. Opens, saw him move one ahead of Rory McIlroy, with only Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods ahead of him among the cohort of players currently exempt into all four Major championships.
Despite winning majors in the last five years, Tiger and Phil belong to the previous generation, so Koepka’s tally arguably puts him ahead of McIlroy as the greatest player of his generation, though McIlroy’s 32 worldwide wins is 13 more than Koepka’s, whose CV includes two Japan Tour, four Challenge Tour and three LIV Golf wins.
Despite being the only LIV player to make the United States Ryder Cup side, and one of three current Major championship holders on the US side, Koepka played in just three of a possible five matches in Rome, with reports suggesting he was far from pleased at being chosen to sit out the opening foursomes session where Europe recorded a first-ever whitewash opening session.
“I was never the guy at college and I’m not the guy out here,” the 33-year-old told Golf Monthly. “Five Majors in and I’m still not the guy. If other people had done what I’ve done, then everybody would anoint them.”
Koepka’s five major titles account for more than half of his nine PGA Tour wins, proving that not only is he a man for the big occasion, he’s a man for the biggest occasions. So how does he explain his ability to consistently perform on the biggest stage?
“Honestly, I’m just built a little bit different,” he says.
“It’s just being mentally better. Look at Tiger [Woods], he was just mentally better than everybody else. If you know you can mentally beat everybody, and have more discipline, that plays a huge part. I know I will mentally outlast everybody, especially when it’s very difficult.
“I’ll keep striking the ball consistently out of the middle, put it where I want it and then kind of wait my turn – and when that comes I’ll step on the gas.
“It’s all mental, there’s nothing physical that you can do. I enjoy the bigger stage, I enjoy the bigger crowds and the louder people get, the more I enjoy it and it’s easier for me.
“Everything else is kind of a practice session for those Majors. It’s not a front, it’s the whole reason that you tee it up, right? To be in contention with nine to play, within three on the back nine. I love competition and I love just trying to beat everybody.”
Koepka was rumoured to be unhappy on LIV and secretly yearning to return to the PGA Tour circuit, and did go as far as to suggest that, had he been fully fit, he may not have accepted the offer to join the Saudi-backed breakaway, but despite recently becoming a father for the first time and enjoying obscene wealth thanks to his LIV signing bonus which he recently admitted was nine figures ($100 million plus), he maintains that nothing has changed and that his work ethic is as strong as it’s always been.
“I’m still the same person as I was back then,” he said. “Everyone has this big perception that I’m very serious, but behind closed doors, Pete Cowen gives me more crap than anybody.
“He’s always on top of me. Nothing’s ever good enough and he’s always dogging me, which I like. We all have a good time and get a good laugh out of each other. Everybody knows what I expect and I know what they expect of me and it’s very simple. We’re all very close and it feels like a family.
“I wouldn’t change anything as it’s working. I feel like I’m very close to where my peak is and everybody understands what the goal is and where the target is. We don’t have to move the goalposts a lot. I expect high standards of myself. I feel like I don’t work hard enough, but I probably work harder than 99.9 per cent of the guys out here.
“It’s all fun to me and, once the gun goes off, then it’s up to me if I can figure it out and win.”
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