Concerning News Emerges for Brooks Koepka During The Open
Brooks Koepka has always been a surprising take on golf's biggest stages. With five major wins under his belt, the Smash GC captain knows how to rise to the occasion. But as the 2025 Open Championship tees off at Royal Portrush, questions hang over Koepka's readiness, both physically and mentally.
The final major of the year has begun in Antrim, Northern Ireland, with Rory McIlroy returning to familiar turf and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler entering as the favorite. Defending champion Xander Schauffele, along with LIV stars Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, are all in the mix for the Claret Jug.
However, it's Koepka's quiet lead-up to the tournament that's now raising eyebrows. According to coach Pete Cowen, 'Brooks has got a little twinge in his knee,' a worrying detail for a player already under the radar this week. Despite looking calm during Wednesday's practice in the sunshine, his recent form hasn't been stellar. Ranked 28th in the LIV standings, and coming off a fiery withdrawal at LIV Dallas, Koepka is searching for his spark.
He did show flashes of form at the U.S. Open, finishing T12, but his standards are higher. And skipping media duties this week? Very unlike him.
As for today's leaderboard, not many have gone under par. Only Danes Thorbjørn Olesen and Rasmus Hojgaard are in the red. Padraig Harrington, Phil Mickelson and Marco Penge sit at even, while Harrington's early momentum faded with back-to-back bogeys.
Koepka may be flying under the radar now but with his track record, this could be the calm before a storm or a sign of more trouble to come.This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 17, 2025, where it first appeared.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Australia golfer's hot start to Senior British Open
Australia's Mark Hensby has fired five consecutive birdies in a dream start to the Senior British Open and holds second spot after the opening round. Hensby is a shot adrift of New Zealander Steve Alker who set the early pace with a stellar seven-under 63 on Thursday at Sunningdale in Berkshire, England. Hensby's 64 featured five-straight birdies to start - he landed two more, but also a bogey, in his six-under round. "The first three holes, I wasn't outside three feet," the 54-year-old said. The winner of the ISPS HANDA Senior Open will qualify for the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Hensby has played in @TheOpen three times, most recently in 2007, with two top-25 opening with a 6-under 64 at Sunningdale, he's one off the lead as he… — PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) July 24, 2025 "The back nine probably is a little bit more difficult ... there's a couple of tricky tee shots." Last month, Hensby was tied with Padraig Harrington and Stewart Cink going into the final round of the US Senior Open before finishing fourth, an experience he planned to draw upon in coming days. "I learned a lot playing with Padraig and Stewart the last day," he said. "You don't have to be perfect and, unfortunately, we feel like we have to. "Padraig played great the last nine holes and it was fun to be there and watch and competing, even though I wasn't in contention the last nine holes." Hensby, whose only senior tour victory is the 2023 Invited Celebrity Classic, trails Alker who had no issues with the back nine, shooting five-under 30 in the stretch. American Joe Durant and South Korea's KJ Choi, the defending champion, are tied for third at four-under with a host of players a further shot back, including Harrington and Ernie Els.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Bryson DeChambeau tells all about powerful note USA Ryder Cup captain put in his locker at The Open
Bullish Bryson DeChambeau fired a blistering Ryder Cup warning as he revealed personal notes of inspiration left by skipper Keegan Bradley inside lockers at The Open. The American ace finally cracked some of The Championship code with a superb closing 64 to race into a Top 10 finish. DeChambeau was superb over the final three days as he banished the misery of an opening 78 to charge through the pack and prove he can do on the links. READ MORE: LIV Golf superstar comes out swinging over Shane Lowry storm and claims players are stuck in no win situations READ MORE: Inside the mind of Scottie Scheffler as superstars pal reveals s**t talks of Open champion in waiting The LIV star has not been able to add to his two majors this year, but the Bethpage battle against Europe offers the chance of a magical ending. DeChambeau's Portrush performance has fully punched his ticket into the home side for New York and he has warned Luke Donald's team to fear the worst. Captain Bradley has been pumping up his troops and was at it again in Northern Ireland as he team star revealed: 'I talked with him briefly and then he put something in our lockers that was pretty inspirational. 'It's a personal message. In essence, yes. For sure. It meant a lot. This year's no joke. We're tired of it. We're tired of losing. 'I hope I can bring a lot of energy and a tsunami of a crowd that's going to be rooting for Team USA.' DeChambeau was asked about the rumour President Donald Trump, a mate of his, would be at Bethpage to cheer him along, but he smiled: 'I don't know. I think he's got bigger problems on his hands right now!' DeChambeau's LIV experiences will aid as he continued: 'We have the most wins on tour right now as the Crushers. The way I've personally led my team is I've let them be their individual self, their best individual self to add to the team. That's it. Don't try to put someone in a bubble and say you need to do this, you need to do that. 'What I learned best from my college coach, Josh Gregory, was just that, let me be me, which was amazing. I've let them be them. That's the way I'll move forward in team competition.' DeChambeau's final 54 holes at Portrush were sensational, which brought a few fan jibes about a LIV event. His punch of the air as he completed the last three days in 16-under par said much about conquering the Open challenge. DeChambeau turned his week around superbly after a harrowing day one and said: 'Normally I'd be super pissed and frustrated, which I was rightfully so, because I thought I played pretty well and shot seven-over. I said to myself: I'm going to do something different this time. 'I've been working on myself and how I am and how I act and whatnot. I'm going to transition my brain to say: I'm going to give it everything I have no matter what happens. I'm going to go full force, attack . 'That's what I did for the past three days, I said, every time is go time, like you've got to come back from five, six back. That's the mentality I had. 'I said I'm going to give myself a chance. I'm not going to pout. I'm going to be free. I always told you guys I like it when it's fair conditions. I can play well. I still have to crack the code when it's raining and windy. But I feel like we're getting close to some opportunities and solutions for that. 'I was really proud of the way I turned it around and gave myself actually some hope on the third round.' DeChambeau received a rapturous reception down the 72nd hole and he beamed: 'I think I look at the game a little bit different than others. I want to win. I think we all know that. But there's more than winning. 'There's how you influence a younger population, how you showcase yourself and what you do for others, what value do you give them. The only reason we're getting paid the numbers we're getting paid is because of those individuals out there in the stands. 'Once I started realising that, I started changing my mindset so they see me more in the light that I'm trying to showcase this great game. 'I hope that I can add to the game of golf from outside. YouTube, content, entertainment. It's going to be a cool give-back sort of thing. 'That's the stuff that excites me now. Not more than tournament golf, but almost as much. I think having another identity with that saying: Hey, look, I'm not just a professional, but I'm an entertainer as well has shown people the true side of myself. 'It's a great Open venue. I think it was a solid setup. It would be a lot of fun to come back. It's a great town.' DeChambeau's persona is very different to Scheffler and he said: 'Scottie's in a league of his own right now. I played with him a lot in college and he was not that good, so he's figured out a lot of stuff since then. It's really impressive to see and something we can all learn from for sure. 'I think he's a family man. He really respects his family and he wants that to be the most important thing for him. I have full respect for that. At some point I will have a family. 'For him, I think it's more important to take care of his family, which he's done a great job and tremendous job of balancing the two, being the best golfer in the world and being a family man.'
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
LIV Golf superstar comes out swinging over Shane Lowry storm and claims players are stuck in no win situations
Jon Rahm reckons there has to be a rule change after Shane Lowry's two-shot storm at The Open, writes Craig Swan from Portrush. The Spanish star played alongside his Ryder Cup team-mate less than 24 hours after the controversial call which smacked the 2019 champion. Lowry was docked a couple of strokes when it was adjudged his ball had moved during a practice-swing routine on the 12th hole of his Friday round. The Irishman was sickened over the ruling which was based on camera footage, but says he was not going to argue as he was not prepared to be smashed with social-media taunts of being a cheat. READ MORE: Bryson DeChambeau hit by Open warning as he declares it's 'not rocket science' to fix key issue READ MORE: Former World number one tips Scottish golf prodigy everybody is raving about to go all the way Rahm was aware of the scenario and believes something has to change in the rules having been in the same situation himself at one point. The Liv star said: 'I can relate because I've been there. They've done exactly the same thing to me where they give you the iPad, and look what happened. 'You're in a no-win situation because if you say I didn't see it, therefore I don't think it should be a penalty, even though the rule says it should be visible to the naked eye, you always run the risk of being called something you don't want to be called. 'And, if you take it on the safe side, you're taking a two-shot penalty. If he starts at two-under today, you have a good Saturday, you can put yourself in contention. When you get 10 shots back, it's a little bit harder. It's a tough spot to be in. From what I understand from the whole thing, and I haven't seen the images, this is just from what I heard, it needs to be visible without a camera. 'If the rule says visible to the naked eye, we need to uphold that more than anything else. I don't know. It's always going to be based on the situation, and when you get in the rough, it's tricky. 'I'm assuming if he was in the rough on 12, right or left, there's enough people around you that if they see it, they're going to say so. Something needs to be changed for sure, I just don't know exactly how they could change it.' While unimpressed at the Lowry position, Rahm was not one of those with an issue over the slow play. He said: 'The people that played in my wave, we had a lot of rain come in and out, so umbrellas out, glove out, put the rain gear on, take the rain gear off, give the umbrella to the caddie. It becomes a lot longer that way. 'When you have 150 plus the first two rounds, every single major except the Masters, obviously, is going to be longer rounds. It's just what it is. 'In smaller fields when you have less people, and even in threesomes in small fields, you don't really have that issue. Once they get to the Playoffs or DP World championship or Abu Dhabi, those are not things that become an issue. 'I think there's so many players and there's so many opportunities where the game can get delayed, that's just going to happen. It's the flow of the game. There's very little you can do to make those rounds a lot shorter. That's just the nature of the game. 'It's a bit of an adjustment after playing in LIV because we absolutely fly. The one thing we do, I feel like every round is less than four and a half hours unless the weather conditions are crazy. Doral may be a little bit longer. 'It is an adjustment when you get to play a six-hour round a little bit, but I also know it's going to happen. 'Just distract yourself a little bit and basically lock back in when it's time. There's nothing else you can do.'
