Brooks Koepka: Non-major accomplishment at Phoenix

At this weekend’s Waste Management Phoenix Open, Brooks Koepka did something he almost never does. He rallied to win a non-major.

Starting the day five strokes behind third-round co-leaders Xander Schauffele and Jordan Spieth, Koepka shot 65 to finish at 19-under 265, one stroke ahead of Schauffele and K H Lee.

He did it with a full-blown late charge that featured three birdies plus an eagle in the final six holes.

With respect to Koepka, the above includes two exceptional components. The first is that he came from behind; the second is that he won a non-major; indeed, merely a regular PGA Tour event.

For a four-time Major champion, Koepka’s career performance sheet in non-major approaches unremarkable. As a pro, he’s teed it up 112 times in non-major championships, walking off with just four victories.

But one of those was the 2019 WGC Fed Ex St. Jude, and another was the 2019 CJ Cup, both fitting into the class of big-money non-major competitions. His only other regular Tour wins came at the 2015 Waste Management.

At the Majors, of course, Brooks Koepka is a force of nature.

In a nine-Major stretch between 2017 and 2019, Koepka won four times, with a pair of seconds, a fourth, and a sixth. Injuries have limited his availability since then, but Koepka still found his way to a tie for seventh at November’s Masters.

For his career, the contrast between Koepka’s showing in big-fame events, as opposed to regular stops, is remarkable. He’s made 60 appearances as a pro in Majors, WGC, FedEx Cup, or Players tournaments, winning five times and missing just three cuts.

In non-Major PGA Tour competitions, Koepka’s 74 career starts have resulted in just three wins and 21 missed cuts. Three of the latter came in his most recent prior starts, the Farmers, the Amex, and last fall’s Mayakoba.

The second unusual aspect of Koepka’s weekend is that he rallied. That is something Koepka almost never does. Only twice before in his seven previous victories did Koepka come from off the Saturday lead, and both times he closed minor gaps.

At the 2017 US Open, he trailed Brian Harmon by a stroke but shot a Sunday 67 to beat Harmon and Hideki Matsuyama by four. And back at the 2015 Waste Management, Koepka trailed Martin Laird by three strokes entering final round play but came home in 66 to beat Matsuyama, Ryan Palmer, and Bubba Watson by one.

This rally was a legit, four-star comeback. Coming to the 13th tee, Brooks Koepka trailed James Hahn, -19, by four strokes. At one-under for the day, his round was going nowhere. But at that par 5, he wrapped his 234-yard approach out of the rough and around a tree to within 24 feet of the cup, then drained the eagle putt to get to 15-under.

At about the same moment, Hahn was bogeying the 11th, the first of four closing bogeys to mar his card.

At the 14th, Koepka dropped his 162-yard approach six feet from the cup and drained that putt to go to 16-under. Another birdie at the 15th left the floundering Hahn behind and moved him into a tie for first with Schauffele and Lee.

His tee shot at the short par four 17th checked up about 30 yards short and right of the flag, leaving a tight chip to set up a possible tying birdie. Instead, Koepka dunked it to suddenly seize a two-stroke advantage.

The victory elevated Koepka back into contender status for the 2021 Major season. Until all those injuries limited Koepka to just one Major start between August of 2019 and October of 2020, he was a perennial contender.

Based on his playing history, he’s likely to make four or five more starts before the Masters in April. Although Brooks Koepka is winless there, he has been a consistent presence. He tied for seventh in November, was runner-up to Tiger Woods in 2019, and tied for 11th in 2017.