Brooks Koepka may live in Florida, but he absolutely owns the state of New York when it comes to major championship golf.
With his win at the 2023 PGA Championship, Koepka moved into exclusive company by becoming only the 20th golfer with five or more major titles. And his three Wanamaker Trophies puts him only behind Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and Walter Hagen. But now Brooks can claim something that even those legends can’t.
That’s because his two-shot victory at Oak Hill was his third major win in the Empire State. That makes him the first player ever to win majors at three different venues in the same state. How’s that for a trifecta?
Previously, Koepka won the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills and the 2019 PGA at Bethpage Black. His other two majors came at the 2017 U.S. Open and Erin Hills and the 2018 PGA at Bellerive. Apparently, Koepka loves courses with the word “Hill” or “Hills” in it as well.
“Yeah, this is probably the sweetest one of them all because all the hard work that went into this one,” Koepka said after. “This one is definitely special.”
Aside from all that, Koepka moved past everyone in the post-Tiger era in terms of total majors with No. 5, passing Rory McIlroy. This despite the fact that McIlroy won his fourth major nearly three years before Koepka won his first.
Injuries curtailed Koepka’s major championship assault the past couple years, and he has hinted that those struggles were a big reason why he left the PGA Tour for LIV. But this year he has clearly returned to full strength, grabbing the 54-hole lead at the Masters last month before closing the deal in his latest New York conquest on Sunday.
It remains to be seen whether Koepka will be allowed to play in the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, but barring an injury he’ll be back in the Big Apple in 2026 when the U.S. Open returns to Shinnecock. To the rest of the field that week, good luck.
MORE FROM GOLF DIGEST @ THE PGA CHAMPIONSHIP