There were definitely a couple of moments during the final round of the US Open where it appeared likely that it would be a LIV Golf star who would triumph at Oakmont, with both Tyrrell Hatton and Carlos Ortiz in contention on Sunday.
Ultimately, both Tyrrell Hatton and Carlos Ortiz were unable to get across the line. But there were some positive signs for those who do ply their trade on LIV Golf, particularly with Brooks Koepka putting himself in the mix on Thursday at the US Open.
Koepka was tied for third after his opening round of 68 at Oakmont. Koepka explained afterwards how he had been scolded by his coach Pete Cowen in practice ahead of the third major of the year.
Ultimately, Koepka did fall away as he finished in a tie for 12th. But it was definitely a step in the right direction.
Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka predictions made after the US Open
Koepka had missed the cut at both The Masters and the PGA Championship. It was the first time in more than a decade that the 35-year-old had missed consecutive cuts in the majors.
One player who had a less enjoyable time at Oakmont was Dustin Johnson. Johnson won the last time the US Open was held at Oakmont, back in 2016. But he has now missed all three major cuts this year.
And speaking on Dan on Golf about Johnson’s comments about the keys to his victory nine years ago, Dan Rapaport admitted that he has now given up thinking Johnson will win a third major.
He does however, have higher hopes for Koepka after his showing this week.
“I’m going to make a declaration here: I think Dustin Johnson’s done winning majors. And I’ll make another declaration here: I don’t think that Brooks Koepka is done winning majors. DJ was doing his pre-tournament press conference on Monday. He missed the cut, he shot 10 over and he was asked how he managed to manoeuvre around Oakmont under par when he won his US Open in 2016,” he said.
“I’m probably reading too deep into this – it’s not the first time that that’s happened, probably won’t be the last – but to me, that felt like someone talking in the past tense of their career, like a grandpa on his porch sipping a beer at 2pm talking about the three touchdowns that he threw in the state championship game. He’s missed the cut in six of his last eight majors, and I don’t know if it’s motivation or age. I know he’s 40 and it’s harder to compete in your 40s, but his play has dropped multiple levels over the last few years, and I just don’t get the sense that it’ll turn around. He’s just been really, really poor in the majors.
“And then, on the other hand, we have Brooks Koepka, who opened with 68 but slipped down the board as the week wore on. I’m still terrified of this guy’s name when I see it at the majors. I’ll never forget when I really first started covering golf was 2018. That was in the middle of the domination from Koepka, and I’m going to use a word that Alan Shipnuck uses a lot, it was just so macho, the way he would overpower tournaments. And he struggled a little bit in majors recently, this was a better week, but he won one only two years ago, with the ones in between at Oak Hill and Oakmount were not so great. But I’m far more bullish on his turnaround prospects because he’s still 35, he’s been healthy for most of the past few years. It feels like Brooks is always telling us, ‘I’m finally healthy’, but we haven’t heard of much injury problems. And the question with Koepka’s always been motivation, and I cannot think of possible better motivation than the guy who’s, I think they’re 364 days apart, him and Rory McIlroy, they’re constantly compared with one another, we saw in that Full Swing on Netflix, and Rory caught him with five majors.
“Didn’t happen this week, but I do believe Brooks Koepka will win a major championship again. I’m pretty darn sure of that.”
Why Brooks Koepka may be one to watch at The Open Championship next month
The Open Championship is one of the two majors Koepka is yet to win. However, there are reasons to be optimistic ahead of next month’s event at Royal Portrush.
Koepka has four top 10s in 10 Open Championship appearances. And crucially, his best ever result in the event came six years ago when he finished tied for fourth at Portrush.
The Open Championship has not been a happy hunting ground for Koepka more recently, with a missed cut in 2022, as well as two average finishes in the last two years.
But Rapaport is confident that the fire in Koepka has been lit again following his performance at Oakmont.
And clearly, if he is able to get himself into contention in Northern Ireland, he is going to be incredibly difficult to stop.
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