Despite the fact that Brooks Koepka’s attempt to make the Masters field green with envy failed in the final round on Sunday, the frequently injured American nonetheless left with his head held high after re-establishing himself as a serious contender.
One of the 18 LIV Golf players who on the course this week, Koepka, started the round with a two-shot lead, but his chances of winning the Green Jacket were destroyed when his advantage vanished after four holes and he fell four shots short of victor Jon Rahm.
Due to Koepka’s poor iron play early in the round, the Spaniard was able to take the lead outright at the sixth hole and never looked back as they were playing in a mano-a-mano final pairing of major champions and previous world number ones.
“I did. I gave it all so I could get some sleep at night, “Koepka, a four-time major champion, remarked.
Koepka played the first two rounds with incredible consistency before beginning to falter in the rain-shortened third round that ended early on Sunday. Koepka then stumbled over the final 18 holes, which he completed in three over par (75).
Koepka, who tied for second place, failed to convert a 54-hole lead or co-lead in a major tournament for the first time in four tries.
When Koepka competed at the Masters two years ago, three weeks after having surgery to repair a broken kneecap, he could not even properly kneel to read his putts. Koepka claims that his most recent performance is evidence of his growth, even though it might take some time for it to sink in.
Give it a week, and I’ll start to get some benefits from it, Koepka said, adding that he plans to apply what he has learned to the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open, and the British Open. But right now, if I’m being completely honest, probably for the next few hours and days, it’s sort of hard to see.
Koepka resembled the dominant figure he was while winning four major championships from 2017 to 2019 for a significant stretch of the competition. Although losing this one, he claimed he once again proved to the golfing world that he is capable of winning.
Indeed, I believe I demonstrated it this week, don’t you? stated Koepka. “While I’ve known this for a while, I suppose it just required doing. I simply failed to perform on the last day after holding the lead for three rounds. In a nutshell.”