Brooks Koepka finally looked like his old self after a long adjustment period following his PGA Tour return. He posted an opening round 6-under 64 at the $9.8M RBC Canadian Open to be one of the co-leaders and then followed it with a round of 2-under 68 to remain in contention. Yet golf’s timing can be cruel. With less than a week to go before the U.S. Open, a troubling development surfaced on moving day.

Rex Hoggard of Golf Channel first reported that Brooks Koepka received treatment on his left elbow from his trainer on the practice range. Posting a picture of Koepka and his trainer, Hoggard further added that Koepka’s trainer was walking with him during the round as well. On the 11th tee, the five-time major winner again needed his trainer’s help. While he finished the round despite struggling, Koepka seemed puzzled by his injury afterward.

“I don’t know what it is. I’m struggling to grip the club with my ring finger and pinky finger. So I can’t grip it. My fingers would come loose. It was kind of numb. I don’t know what the deal was, but hopefully we’ll figure it out,” said the 36-year-old who endured a difficult third round because of the mysterious injury.

Koepka was just two shots back of the leader after Friday. However, on moving day, he couldn’t pick up a birdie until very late in the round. Brooks Koepka opened with a par, then carded a double on the second hole and added two more squares to his scorecard on the par-3 seventh and the par-4 10th.

He made two birdies on the 13th and the 14th to offset that but finished at 2-over 72, sliding down 25 spots on the leaderboard. The injury was more puzzling because Koepka admitted he was feeling fine heading to the range.

“The whole warm-up, I felt fine. I was absolutely good,” explained the five-time major winner who returned to the PGA Tour in January. “Then got to the range and went to grip the club, and I just couldn’t even grip it. So it lasted all day. Felt better the last few holes. I don’t know if that’s just the meds kicking in or what it is.”

It wasn’t clear which medication Koepka was referring to. Yesterday, the 36-year-old lost strokes with his driver, irons, and wedges. The injury seems even more concerning for two reasons.

Previously, Koepka tore his left wrist tendon in January 2018 and had to sit out for 15 weeks. While he defended his U.S. Open title that year, his left wrist once again troubled him in 2021. He injured the left wrist while trying to play a recovery shot from a tree root at the Tour Championship. Koepka withdrew as a precautionary measure. This time it’s not clear whether he has aggravated his wrist again, but the timing couldn’t have been worse.

The five-time major champion earlier admitted his putting has let him down. But just before the Canadian Open, Koepka said he was feeling “really close” to figuring out his putting woes, and at TPC Toronto, he finally cracked it.

Brooks Koepka was 136th on the PGA Tour in SG: Putting heading to the RBC Canadian Open. However, in the same category, Koepka was fifth in the opening round at TPC Toronto and fourth in Round 2. Due to injury, he ranked 30th in SG: Putting yesterday.

His resurgence would certainly have helped him at the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. The last time this Long Island club hosted the national championship, Brooks Koepka emerged as the winner.

Now there are precedents of pros battling a nagging injury and still winning. For instance, Scottie Scheffler’s trainer, Marnus Marais, offered treatment to the World No. 1 during the second round of the 2024 Players Championship. He struggled with his neck problem throughout the week but still won at TPC Sawgrass that year.

Most recently, Nick Taylor had an on-course physiotherapy session at the Cadillac Championship 2026. He managed a T9. Trainers accompanying golfers usually indicate a need for acute pain management and precautions to prevent worsening of the injury.

With the U.S. Open approaching next week, this is certainly a cause of concern for the five-time major champion. But before that, a final round awaits, and Koepka sits seven shots behind the leader, Jackson Suber. He will tee off with Matthieu Pavon and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen from the 1st tee at 10:30 AM EDT.