Looking at the reporting behavior of the American media at the Masters Tournament last month, which was the first major men’s golf tournament this year, it is clear how much Brooks Koepka (33, USA) is hated in his country. The American media and the golf world cheered, saying, “It’s a pity” that Koepka, a local player, could not lift the trophy. The news of Spain’s Jon Rahm (29)’s victory was behind the scenes. In other words, the sense of betrayal of Koepka in the US golf community was so great.
Who was Koepka? ‘Long hitter’ Koepka said, “I will not go to LIV golf (sponsored by Saudi Arabia).” He was the protector of the PGA Tour and was a superman. Koep Ka suddenly announced last year that he would transfer to LIV Golf. Americans’ pride was greatly damaged, and Koepka became a ‘villain’ threatening the United States.
At the PGA Championship, which ended on the 22nd (Korean time), Koepka put a dagger into the American golf world again. It was while winning a tournament in which superstars from the US PGA Tour were all out. He won the PGA Championship, a men’s golf major tournament with a total prize of $17.5 million held at Oak Hill CC (par 70, 7380 yards) in Rochester, New York, USA, with a final total of 9 under par 271 strokes. Victor Hoblan (26, Norway) and Scotty Scheffler (27, USA), who represent the PGA Tour, were two strokes short of Koepka. It’s been two years and three months since the Phoenix Open in February 2021 that Koepka, who transferred to LIV Golf in June of last year, won a PGA Tour event. The winning prize is 3.15 million dollars (approximately 4.18 billion won).
Koepka’s victory this time is a painful scene for the PGA Tour in many ways. First of all, he became the first player to win a major tournament as a LIV golf player who is at odds with the PGA Tour. In front of people criticizing LIV as a league of obsolete players, Koepka left a symbolic scene of lifting the ‘Wanamaker’, the most famous championship trophy in the golf tournament. He also reconfirmed his appearance as a ‘major hunter’. Koepka only won 5 majors out of 9 wins on the PGA Tour, and among them, he won 3 wins (2018, 2019, 2023) only at the PGA Championship. Recording five or more wins in major tournaments is a record that only 20 players, including Koepka, have achieved in the history of the PGA Tour.
The reason for Koepka’s withdrawal from the ‘country golf league’ was revealed, albeit slightly, through Netflix’s golf documentary ‘Full Swing’ released this year. Starting with the 2017 US Open, Koepka, who swept 4 major championships in 3 years, suffered from an injury at some point and fell into a deep slump. Koepka, who was staring at the camera with unfocused eyes in the documentary, said, “It is difficult to compete with young players like Scotty Scheffler anymore.” He also said, “If it’s not a win, (other grades) mean nothing.”토토사이트
It was said that he came to LIV Golf as if he was running away. Coincidentally, Koepka came over to LIV Golf and announced a revival with two wins. Local media believe that Koepka got a chance to recover from injury while playing in LIV Golf, which has 14 tournaments a year (8 last year). Koepka said, “Since the beginning of this year, my body has gradually improved.”
Koepka, who took the lead by one stroke in this game, only reduced one stroke in the first half. However, Hobland, who had been chasing him, could not close the gap, and Koepka’s lead continued. The place of victory was the 16th hole (par 4). Koepka lightly added a birdie by putting his second shot on the side of the hole, and after Hoblan missed his tee shot in the bunker, he struggled and wrote down a double bogey, and the weight of the game tilted toward Koepka in an instant.
With this win, Koepka raised his world ranking from 44th to 13th.
Schaeffler failed to win the come-from-behind championship, but based on his performance in this tournament, he pushed out Jon Ram and regained the world No. 1 spot. Ram’s 7-over-par 287, tied for 50th this week, also helped Schaeffler. Lee Gyeong-hoon (32), the only Korean player to pass the cut, tied for 29th with a 5-over par, 285 strokes.