Brooks Koepka learned the secret to winning more Majors when he blew the lead at this year’s Masters – and he’s going to use that secret formula to add to his third PGA Championship title.
Koepka says he would not have claimed the 2023 PGA Championship had it not been for what he himself described as choking away his lead at the Masters – although he won’t reveal his secret.
The five-time Major champion says his victory at Oak Hill definitely wouldn’t have happened had it not been to what he learned at Augusta this year – when he led going into the final round but faded away behind Jon Rahm.
It’s thought that he went into that final round of the Masters with too much of a defensive mindset, determined to not lose the Green Jacket rather than to go out and win it, although Koepka is keeping his secret guarded.
And he certainly attacked from the start in the final round at Oak Hill, with three front-nine birdies in a row setting him off on his way to a commanding victory – where he looked very much like the Koepka that won his first four Majors in style.
“I just learned I knew what I did in Augusta. I spent the whole night thinking about it,” said Koepka after lifting the Wanamaker Trophy for a third time. “I knew what I did and I knew I was never going to come out and think that way again. Didn't do that.
“I definitely wouldn't have, I don't think, won today if that didn't happen; right?
“Definitely take it and keep using it going forward for each event, each major, any time I'm in contention, but I'm not going to share. I can't give away all the secrets.”
Koepka says that he felt in control of his emotions all day, despite Viktor Hovland snapping at his heels all the way until his bunker trouble at the 16th – and he admitted that after a few lean years this one was special.
“I felt in control all day. I felt - to be honest with you, probably the one that was settling - what's the par 5, making the birdie there, I felt like that was a good putt. The other ones were three, four feet. But I think making that 7-footer just helped build some momentum early.
“Yeah, this is probably the sweetest one of them all because all the hard work that went into this one, this one is definitely special. This one is probably it for me.”
