Coach reveals why he told Brooks Koepka to stop whinging after The Masters

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Pete Cowen has revealed how he tore into Brooks Koepka after the five-time major champion was left furious with his putting following The Masters.

Brooks Koepka is one player many will be tipping for next week’s PGA Championship, with the 34-year-old the defending champion heading into Valhalla.

Koepka has this remarkable ability to turn up in the major championships regardless of the form he has shown in the weeks leading up to the event.

So it may have come as a surprise when Koepka finished in a tie for 45th at The Masters in April. He had finished in the top 10 in three of his previous five appearances at Augusta National.

Pete Cowen says he told Brooks Koepka to stop whinging after The Masters

And it seems that he was far from happy with his short game in Georgia, with coach Pete Cowen telling The Telegraph how he did not hold back in his criticism of Koepka as the inquest into his performance began.

“I gave him one of my old-fashioned b——ings when he was moaning to me about his putting,” Cowen said. “I told him to stop whinging and to just get to work on the issue. Again, that’s the sort of thing that triggers him. I gave him a b——ing before he won his first major [the US Open] seven years ago.

“He’s put in the hours and turned it around on the greens since then and with Valhalla being a big boys’ course, I can see him, at the very least, contending. If he wins, he’ll join [Sir Nick] Faldo and [Phil] Mickelson on six majors and at his age that would be exciting. They’d probably still go on underrating him, though.”

A favourite for the PGA Championship

Koepka does not appear to be a player who needs those around him to massage his ego. He knows what it takes to win major championships, and it is clearly the biggest prizes in the sport which bring the best out of him.

That is probably why he was so frustrated with his performance at Augusta National, particularly as The Masters is one of the two majors he is yet to win.

He is one of those players whose form leading into a major seems almost irrelevant because of his ability to find a different gear on the biggest stages.

And it would be no surprise if he was right in the mix when the PGA Championship reaches its final stages next Sunday.