Pro Golf Now
Fansided

Brooks Koepka: Moves on from longtime golf coach

By Josh Chandler

LA QUINTA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 21: Brooks Koepka plays his shot from the 18th tee during the first round of The American Express tournament on the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West on January 21, 2021 in La Quinta, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LA QUINTA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 21: Brooks Koepka plays his shot from the 18th tee during the first round of The American Express tournament on the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West on January 21, 2021 in La Quinta, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Earlier this week on the eve of this week’s Farmers Insurance Open it was announced that four-time major winner Brooks Koepka had parted ways with long-time coach and friend Claude Harmon III.

Brooks Koepka went on to confirm the surprising news via text saying:

"“I love Claude, we had a great run and he’s still family to me, but unfortunately we’re not working together anymore”"

More from Pro Golf Now

Brooks Koepka’s surprising decision

The move comes as a pretty big shock given the amount of success the two have had together over the course of Brooks Koepka’s career so far. Claude began working with Brooks back in 2013 soon after Koepka’s college career had ended at Florida State University.

It was a decision that led to a great amount of success in the early part of the American’s career including 7 PGA wins that culminated with back-to-back wins at both the U.S. Open in 2017, 2018, and the PGA Championship in 2018 and 2019.

Brooks Koepka confirmed with his coach that he would be making a change after The Masters last November at an event that saw another one of Claude’s clients win a Major in Dustin Johnson.

Harmon commented on the decision after the American Express last weekend saying:

"“As devastating as it is to have it happen, I’m so grateful for what he did for me and my family. Me, [caddie] Ricky Elliott, [physical therapist] Marc Wahl, the whole crew, it was like we were a band of brothers. That’s hard to not be a part of. He has to do what’s best for his career, and I know he’ll be fine.”"

The right move for Brooks Koepka?

Koepka had an injury-riddled 2020 season and he was plagued with inconsistencies for much of the year. In fact, it wasn’t until golfs restart in June that Brooks produced his first top 10 finish of the year.

The 30-year old Koepka would go on to post three more top 10 finishes in 2020 but victory proved elusive and he finished the shortened season without a win. Brooks came closest with a runner-up finish at the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational in late July and it was not until the Houston Open and then The Masters that he really started to show some form again.

It is somewhat surprising the Brooks Koepka made the decision to move on from Harmon after finally starting to show some form again with a 7th place finish at The Masters in November. Since then Brooks has again struggled especially in recent starts having missed the cut in his last two events.

Next. Brooks Koepka: 2021 FedEx Cup Contender or Pretender?. dark

It is surely still too early to come to a conclusion on whether or not this was the right move for Brooks Koepka moving forward, although if he were to miss another cut this week at Torrey Pines it would only raise more questions, especially after the news this week.

Home/Golf News