Six players could make history at this year’s British Open
By Bill Felber
Brooks Koepka
With four victories and two runner-up finishes in his most recent nine major starts, Koepka’s peak arc is a rocket ship upward.
Prior to his 2017 U.S. Open victory, Koepka was not a blip in the men’s peak top 200. By that season’s end, he stood 99th in peak; he finished 2018 tied for 40th with Ben Crenshaw and Paul Runyan.
As the British Open begins, Koepka’s PGA victory combined with his runner-up at the U.S. Open and Masters has elevated him into a tie with Phil Mickelson and Jordan Spieth for 13th on the all-time peak chart.
Mickelson is well past his peak and Spieth hasn’t improved his peak score since last year’s British Open. Conversely, Koepka’s last four major tournament finishes have all improved his peak rating. He now stands at the precipice of being considered among the greatest golfers in the game’s history for peak performance.
Were he to win at Royal Portrush with a typical standard deviation score of about -2.5, his peak rating would improve to about -2.13. That would tie him for sixth all-time with Ben Hogan, jumping ahead of Ralph Guldahl, Harry Vardon, Sam Snead, Walter Hagen, and Bobby Jones.
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It would also set up 2020 as an opportunity season for Koepka. Assuming a British Open win and further assuming a repeat of his 2019 performance in 2020, Koepka could finish that season with a peak score as high as -2.23. That would be the fourth-best score in history, trailing only Tiger Woods (-2.68), Jack Nicklaus (-2.35) and Arnold Palmer (-2.32). In that admittedly daunting scenario, he would pass Hogan, Tom Watson and James Braid on the peak chart.