Brooks Koepka started the RBC Canadian Open 2026 with a round of 6-under 64, making him an early leader after Round 1. However, his encouraging form didn’t last long. His performance faltered in the third round, and he withdrew before the final round due to a hand injury. With the 2026 U.S. Open only a few days away, the 36-year-old arrived at Shinnecock Hills and immediately faced questions around his injury.

When asked about whether his swings have been affected by the pain, Brooks Koepka said, “Well, yeah, if you can’t hold the club, it kind of does.” Probed further, he added, “I don’t think the grip strength is a hundred percent, but it’s good enough. It’s fine. There’s no pain. There’s absolutely no pain, which is kind of the weirdest part of this whole thing.”

However, the five-time major winner also showed a ray of hope for fans who were hoping to see his 2018 form at Shinnecock: “It’s getting better day by day. I would say yesterday was pretty much how it was Sunday, but today there was quite a bit of improvement. I don’t think I would have gone out and played if it weren’t.”

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On Which Hole Jordan Spieth’s Ball Got Stuck Under a Trashcan?

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Koepka did get treatment at the 11th tee box at TPC Toronto, including some warm-up exercises and medication, which helped him feel better that day. But it got worse, and he had to get scans done on Sunday in Canada and Monday in New York. All scans came back clean.

“We were able to get a scan on my neck because we were worried about that. That came back good, which is all good, and just simplified it and made sure that’s what it was. I was going to go into the city yesterday and go get a nerve test, but with that scan coming up negative, I think it’s kind of obvious what it is.”

The American professional described the issue as a tingling sensation in his ring and pinkie fingers. It all started after the second round of the RBC Canadian Open 2026. He said that he kept playing with his wrist while watching a show at around 8:00 pm. That’s when he realized that it felt a little weak and tingly.

He further emphasized the mystery by saying, “I don’t know what I did,” to flare up the issue. However, he did reveal that there could be an issue with the ulnar nerve.

The ulnar nerve runs from the neck down to the hand, which is why he ordered a neck scan. It is worth noting that he had herniated discs in his C5 and C6 region of his neck in 2021. If not this, the other possibility, according to his doctors, could be Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, which is caused by compressed blood vessels or nerves in the neck.

Since the issue peaked during the final round of the RBC Canadian Open, it affected his driving stats, too. While his swing was coming back, the grip was still not at one hundred percent. The only ray of hope is that before Thursday, Koepka will be pain-free,, and he will add an 18-hole round to his nine-hole practice round. It is important to him that this issue does not flare up again. The 2026 U.S. Open holds great significance for the five-time major winner.

The event is held at Shinnecock Hills, the same course where he won the title in 2018. That one was special, too, because Koepka defended his title after he tore his left wrist tendon in January 2018, which had sidelined him for around 15 weeks during the 2017-2018 season before returning by the time of the Zurich Classic.

Injury woes before the U.S. Open have been a fear for Koepka. He underwent surgery due to knee and hip issues in 2019. The lingering issue made him withdraw from the 2020 U.S. Open.

If he can pull off a victory again this year, he will become the first repeat winner at Shinnecock Hills in 29 years. It was Curtis Strange who last achieved this feat in 1988-1989. Besides that, he will also become the second golfer in 45 years to win three U.S. Open titles. Willie Anderson won it four times between 1901 and 1905.

That history of injury setbacks around the U.S. Open has only intensified the concern whenever Brooks Koepka feels something out of place heading into a major week. This time, though, a clean scan offered him some reassurance. But whether the issue will affect his 2026 U.S. Open performance remains to be seen.