BROOKS KOEPKA WINS US OPEN TITLE

TWO YEARS IN A ROW

NEWS RELEASE

Southampton, New York: American Brooks Koepka retained the US Open  title by one shot with a final round 68, holding off a fast-charging Tommy Fleetwood of England who matched the U.S. Open low with a superb 63.

Koepka, who became the first repeat winner at the U.S. Open since Curtis Strange in 1989, totalled 1-over 281.

  

The powerful Koepka made a little history on Sunday, winning his second straight U.S. Open Championship. Clinging to a one-shot lead after England’s Tommy Fleetwood tied the championship record with a 63 two hours earlier, Koepka shot a 68 for the highest winning score at the championship since 2012. He became only the seventh player to win the championship in consecutive years.

“This is incredible,” said Koepka, who shot 75 in the first round. “I don’t think I could have dreamed of this, going back-to-back. I always felt like I had a chance (despite the poor opening round). Make a couple birdies and make up a lot of ground. Keep grinding. I knew conditions would ease up and they did and I took advantage of it.”

The other three third round co-leaders never got on track. Dustin Johnson, the 36-hole leader, had another rough day on the greens and shot 70 to finish third at 3-over 283. Tony Finau shot 72, including a double-bogey on the 72nd hole and finished fifth at 5-over. Daniel Berger shot 73 and tied for sixth at 6 over.

Fleetwood’s 63 matched the record shared by five others and was reminiscent of Johnny Miller, who shot a 63 at Oakmont in 1973 to deny Arnold Palmer the championship. Fleetwood, the No. 12-ranked player in the world, missed an eight-foot birdie on the 18th hole that would have given him the record and would have forced a playoff.

“I honestly never really thought I was out of it,” Fleetwood said. “All the way around, I always felt like I could get myself back in it. It’s funny, though, when you finish, you always feel like you’ve kind of missed your shot.”

Reigning Masters champion Patrick Reed, who played alongside Kiradech, began the day with a barrage of five birdies over his first seven holes and had a share of the lead early. But a pair of untimely bogeys halted his momentum and prevented him from winning the second leg of the Grand Slam. He shot 68 and tied for fourth.

Top-10 Payout Breakdown (ties included, per ESPN.com)
1. Brooks Koepka, $2,160,000
2. Tommy Fleetwood, $1,296,000
3. Dustin Johnson, $812,927
4. Patrick Reed, $569,884
5. Tony Finau, $474,659
6. Xander Schauffele, $361,923
6. Tyrrell Hatton, $361,923
6. Henrik Stenson, $361,923
6. Daniel Berger, $361,923
10. Webb Simpson, $270,151
10. Justin Rose, $270,151

Here's a look at the final leaderboard, per PGATour.com.