In the field of sports, it’s really important what you’re going home with. Is it a win, a loss, a trophy or a feeling? If we date back to a month, precisely to the US Open, there were two victors there: Gary Woodland and Brooks Koepka — however, only one went home with a trophy.
The notion of clubbing the two with the epithet of victor lies in the intangible trophy, Koepka went home with. Players could win multiple trophies, smash records, and get an awful lot of success under their belt, but winning fans is often an elusive affair, even the greatest have failed to master. As the past tells, Koepka won multiple trophies, smashed many records but surprisingly, the way most of the gallery seemed behind him at Pebble Beach, wasn’t something had we’ve seen before.
What looked like a story from a fairy tale book, took an unanticipated turn for the world no.1, Brooks Koepka. He did arrive with expectations of winning his third back-to-back US Championship Golf trophy, and perhaps, a side-eye on the record that hasn’t been broken for more than 100 years — winning three consecutive US Open titles.
Scenes from Pebble Beach:
Koepka was four strokes back to start the day. People saw him birdy the 1st and later on, he had a noticeable up-and-down for par on No.2—eventually, there was mayhem at the gallery as the crowd was exploding with passion. As Brooks walked off the 4th, a fan screamed his name saying, “This is all yours baby!”.
But, it’s safe to say that it wasn’t his day. People were fairly flabbergasted by the competition, the two produced. Although many on the neutral perspective suggested it was Woodland’s day quite some time before the game reached the crescendo, many still believed Brooks to do the extraordinary, he didn’t. It was clear that the nefarious lady luck, didn’t look in a mood to shine on the world no.1 as the event saw him falling short by three to Woodland.
A record with the concoction of joy, dejection and a lot of other emotions:
Ultimately, Koepka got his name in the record books again but this time, the record isn’t really the one he’d be taking a lot of pride in. As the records suggest, Koepka is now the first player to shoot in the 60s for all 4 rounds and yet end up not winning it. The narrative of the records speaks of the fine margins that play a part in this gentlemen’s game. Nevertheless, Koepka still seemed positive (if not gutted) by the conclusion.
A look ahead to the Open Championship:
Looking to better his best finish at the Open Championship (T6 in 2017) and target a fifth major title, Koepka is understandably one of the favourites in Open Championship Betfair odds.
He may be under immense pressure, but he does have an ace up his sleeve in the form of caddie, Ricky Elliot. Portrush-born Elliot is more than familiar with the Dunluce Links course, having tasted success as a junior as both the Ulster Boys and Ulster Youth champion.
“Every hole I just step up on and say, `you tell me what to do, you’ve played it more than anybody’,” said Koepka.
“He knows his spots to miss it where to come in from, with different hole locations and different winds.”
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