USA Today via Reuters
May 21, 2023; Rochester, New York, USA; Brooks Koepka celebrates after winning the PGA Championship golf tournament at Oak Hill Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
May 21, 2023; Rochester, New York, USA; Brooks Koepka celebrates after winning the PGA Championship golf tournament at Oak Hill Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-USA TODAY Sports
Brooks Koepka’s reputation is truly groundbreaking. A former world #1 who is now crowned the number 1 LIV golfer with 4 LIV wins and 5 majors in his name. Koepka has surely established several milestones in the golf industry after turning pro in 2012. In a career spanning almost 12 years, his journey has been nothing less than enthralling. What truly makes him a go-getter is the fact that he is not ready to stop.
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The former PGA Tour pro has made a lot of money, nearly $43,101,649 from the PGA Tour, and many more millions from the Saudi-funded league. He also made several records, and a few of them came at the PGA Championship, where he is returning this year as a defending champion. Whether he will be able to successfully defend his title or not remains to be seen, but meanwhile, let us take a look a look at the top three insane records that he has made in golf’s second major.
Koepka’s notable back-to-back wins at the PGA Championship
Although Koepka‘s career seemed exemplary from the get-go, it was his back-to-back wins that cemented his name on the list of record-holders. First at the US Open, 2017–18, and then another streak of two wins at the PGA Championship, 2018 and 2019. With such remarkable achievements, Koepka became the very first golfer to have won two back-to-back titles in different majors simultaneously.
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After his 2019 PGA Championship win, the golfer stated, “I’ve gone back-to-back at the PGA and the US Open. Hopefully looking to do it again.” Back then, he also said, “I don’t know if it has ever been done, but it would be kind of a cool thing.” Then he ended up winning the same title again in 2023, making it his third win at the PGA Championship, and fifth overall.
With his stellar 2023 victory, he also became the first LIV golfer to clinch a major title, and then subsequently become the only LIV golfer to become a part of the Ryder Cup squad. 2018 was, however, certainly the year for Brooks Koepka, as he made yet another momentous record.
Brooks Koepka holds the record of the lowest 72-hole scorer in the PGA Championship’s history
Almost two decades before Koepka’s performance in 2018, David Toms had scored the lowest the second major. He shot 17 under 265, back in 2001 at the Atlanta Athletic Club. However, Koepka snatched that title from him when he hit an even lower number at the 100th PGA Championship at Bellerive. He carded four rounds of 69, 63, 66, and 66, for a total of 16 under 264. With that, he still holds the title of the lowest 72-hole scorer in the history of the tournament.
That’s not all. Koepka had claimed that he firmly believes that every golfer chases Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, and the chase is extremely tough in itself. Yet, Brooks Koepka has made it possible.
Brooks Koepka: A name to remember right after Nicklaus and Woods
Jack Nicklaus won his very first PGA Championship back in 1963; he won another four titles in the next two decades, the last being the 1980 Championship. With five wins in total, he still ranks at the top of the list, followed by the living legend, Tiger Woods, who at the moment holds four PGA Championship wins. Brooks Koepka is next in line. The third golfer in the history of the sport to ever achieve three PGA championships in their career.
He shared his excitement as well as pride about this achievement in an interview with Golfweek. When he was asked about his views about standing next to such iconic golfers, Koepka called it surreal. He stated, “To be named alongside Jack and Tiger is surreal. I don’t think even as a kid I dreamed that I would make it this far.”
He even proceeded to call his success something seemingly “crazy” to him. Koepka further confessed, “It is still mind-boggling to me that I am mentioned with those names. I still cannot wrap my head around that but anytime you are mentioned alongside those two icons, you are definitely doing something right!”
Do you think Brooks Koepka can win yet another PGA Championship and stand against the GOAT? Are you going to be rooting for Koepka at Valhalla this upcoming weekend to lift the highly coveted and interesting Wanamaker? Let us know in the comments below!
Written by
Edited by
Riya Singhal