Brooks Koepka won the U.S. Open on Sunday, becoming the first back-to-back winner of the national championship since Curtis Strange pulled off the repeat nearly three decades ago.
Koepka kept his cool under pressure in the final round, getting up and down and maintaining a narrow lead down the stretch. The 28-year-old now has three career victories, adding his second major title. He finished with a 2-under-par 68 and 1 over for the tournament to beat Tommy Fleetwood by one shot.
Paired with Dustin Johnson, Koepka gave himself breathing room on the par-5 16th with a 4-foot birdie putt to push his lead to two shots. He bogeyed the final hole.
Johnson struggled with his putter, finishing with a 70 and 3 over for the tournament.
Fleetwood became only the sixth player in tournament history to shoot a 63. The Englishman finished a couple hours before the leaders, reeling off eight birdies to post the low score of the day.
A day after the U.S. Golf Association admitted it was caught off guard by high winds in the afternoon of Saturday’s third round, measures were taken in hopes of minimizing the chance for a nightmarish repeat in the final round. On Saturday only three of the 67 players broke par.
In a statement, the USGA said “appropriate levels of water” were applied Saturday night and Sunday morning to the putting surfaces, making the greens, on average, 10 to 12 inches slower than in rounds two and three.
The USGA adjusted some of the pin locations as well.
It worked as birdies that weren’t there on Saturday were up for grabs in the final round. Rickie Fowler shot a 65 in the morning, while Phil Mickelson finished with a 69 a day after taking a controversial two-shot penalty.
