News

2023 PGA Championship: Brooks Koepka returns to elite status

Published

3 years ago

May 21, 2023

I’ll begin this championship recap with an anecdote that reminded me how certain people operate in this world. They are the ones that are 100% convinced that they have the answer, and they will not stray from their narrow, efficient path. On Sunday at Oak Hill, I was, ahem, removed from my inside-the-ropes photographers position by a member of some esoteric sect. It turned out that I, in fact, did not have ITR access, and my lanyard gave that designation away. Said agent was neither friendly nor understanding; I had transgressed, and I was to be dismissed. I followed procedure and shot from outside the ropes for the remainder of the afternoon.

I begin with this tale, to let you know how Brooks Koepka thinks. Like this evictor, Koepka has a rigid way of effecting. He does not waver from his path, and he knows no other. On Wednesday, he was asked if he still believed that only a dozen or so golfers in the field were capable of beating him. He responded

When you look at the major leaderboards over the last, I don’t know, maybe five, six years, I mean, it’s pretty repetitive on the guys who are at the top. So I think it’s still the same.

Between us, I don’t believe that Viktor Hovland is one of those twelve, at least in my take on Koepka’s eyes. Hovland is great, no doubt, but does not have major-championship chops. Case in point: with Koepka in the marsh on six, Hovland played too cautiously and found the right-front bunker. Buoyed by Hovland’s mistake, Koepka found the center of the clubface and put his third on the green. If Hovland gets the ball on the green, it releases to the back and he has a legitimate run at birdie. Instead, he gave Koepka room to breathe.

The next day, Koepka found himself six shots behind the leader, but I don’t think that he fears Bryson DeChambeau all that much. In his mind, Bryson played his best golf, and Koepka? Well, in his words …

I hit it, that was the worst I’ve hit it in a long time. Scrambled really well. Missed a couple putts early but scrambled really well late. Yeah, that was the worst I’ve hit it in a really long time.

Whatever he found on the practice range was the elixir that he needed. Koepka played magical golf the rest of the week: 66-66-67. We don’t have a transcript from his Friday interview, and that’s probably because he didn’t do one, or it wasn’t newsworthy. Things that were newsworthy that day, in order, were Cameron Young’s two-shot penalty and early departure, Michael Block’s second consecutive 70 and assurance that one PGA Professional would see the weekend, and Rahm, Spieth, and Thomas fighting back from poor first rounds to make the cut. On Friday, Koepka had five birdies and a bogey on the second nine, and all pars on the first nine. After successful rehabilitation from his knee injury, the Brooks Koepka of 2017-2019 had returned.

Saturday brought the constant rain, drizzle that it was, and the recollection that this was a major championship. Folks faded away, yet Michael Block the working man, somehow turned in a card with a third consecutive 70 on it. As for Koepka, he doubled down on his anthem, He did it his way, sung by the ghost of that great New Yorker, Frank Sinatra:

I love New York. It’s always fun. Like I said, you do something really well, they are going to let you know; and if you do something pretty poor, they are going to let you know, and I just love that. I love when the fans are on you, cheering for you, or you know, giving you crap if you screw up. That’s the beauty of it. You want that, or at least I want that atmosphere.

When a competitor says Bring It On to the fans, to the competitors, to the pilots of the blimp and the drones, he doesn’t give two anythings about thoughts or people outside of his narrative. For the third day, Koepka avoided the big number and laid five birdies against a solitary bogey. He took the lead over Hovland, by one shot.

The PGA Championship is brute’s delight. You don’t win on courses like Bellerive, Bethpage Black in May, and Oak Hill in May, without the strength of a smith and the grave in your belly of, well, a boy named Brooks. The Masters is the same course every year. The US Open has gravitated toward an Americanized version of links golf, and the Open championship is the most whimsical of all the majors. The PGA is hard work. Brooks Koepka seems to love hard work. He had to know that Corey Conners, Justin Rose, Justin Suh, and all the others in his wake, don’t love hard work like he loves it.

Brooks starting with a ?#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/eKwpRknJYW

— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 21, 2023

He had to know, too, that Kurt Kitayama and Cam Smith and Sepp Straka and Cam Davis could throw all the 65s they wanted on day four (they all did, doncha know?) and it would not matter. There was one golfer who might get there, but he needed 63. Scottie Scheffler looked like a man worth considering on Friday night. On Saturday, after he failed to prove himself a worth mudder, Scheffler had slipped and slid to a 73, one shot higher than that forgettable round that Koepka had on Thursday. Scheffler was out of it, until he wasn’t. He made six birdies against one bogey on Sunday for a 65 of his own, but he had to regret his performance on the par-three holes. When you get to choose your lie, you have to make a birdie. Scheffler made four pars, and needed two more birdies.

So here came Koepka, making mistake after mistake on Sunday, unlike the previous two days. His drive on six went into the same marsh that dashed Tom Kite’s US Open bid in 1989. He escaped with bogey. On seven, with a perfect fairway lie, he flared an iron right, into a horizontal stance. He made bogey. On 11, the long par three, his tee shot pulled left, into a bunker. He could only escape to 13 feet and he missed the putt. On 17, his drive missed right and he had to pitch out from the suffocating rough. His par putt from ten feet missed, and he had a fourth bogey on the day. Four bogeys on day four of a major would do most people in.

Driver ?? Putter for Brooks ??#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/FLrQgLyqWQ

— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 21, 2023

Fortunately for Koepka, he found stretches like holes two through four (all birdies) and twelve through sixteen (three birdies and two pars) and added one more, at the 10th. His seven birdies came at the right time, to dissuade all pursuers, including playing partner Hovland. The Norwegian was in hot pursuit, until a double bogey at the 16th, paired with Koepka’s birdie, dropped him from the chase. Hovland’s closing birdie brought him even with Scheffler, in a tie for second. It was Hovland’s best major finish to date, and hopefully, a heck of a tutorial.

Down the 18th strode Koepka. Driver to the fairway, 175 yards left. Approach to ten feet, and a walk up the final of Oak Hill’s many descents and ascents. A lag to inches, and major championship number five. Does this make him the favorite for the US Open at Los Angeles Country Club? You bet. It’s 2018 all over again.

This is how Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship.@ROLEX | #ROLEX pic.twitter.com/UK1KJGeD6K

— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 22, 2023

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 Memorial Tournament

Published

1 day ago

Jun 1, 2026

Ben A

GolfWRX is on site this week at the Memorial Tournament, with both Alistair Cameron and Tour Photographer Greg Moore on the ground in Dublin, Ohio, where a strong field is assembled to pay homage to the Golden Bear.

In addition to WITB galleries, we’ve already been treated to an in-hand look at Tommy Fleetwood’s new TaylorMade Spider putters.

Check out links to all our photos below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

News

Tour Tech Rundown: Heroic Henley

Published

1 day ago

Jun 1, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Around the world, the golf wheel spun this final week in May of 2026. From New Jersey to Austria, with stops in Korea, Texas, and North Carolina (don’t let me route your next trip) the world’s finest put their golf games on display. There were three playoffs, some known commodities and some new talent. It was the sort of week that we hope to have at this point in the seasons. June and July afford double-digit major events, and perhaps, one of this week’s champions will use this success as a springboard to new heights. Time to run it all down, tech style, in this week’s Tour Tech Rundown.

Thanks to WITBHub, Today’s Golfer, GolfWRX, and Inside Tour Golf for initial research into equipment.

PGA Tour @ Charles Schwab Challenge: Heroic Henley denies Cole

Eric Cole did nearly everything that a fellow can do, to secure a first PGA Tour title. He stayed one shot clear of Ryder Cup player Ben Griffin. He kept US Open champion Gary Woodland and wunderkind Michael Brennan two shots distant. He posted 70 on day four to reach twelve under par. And then, Russell Henley revealed his Dr. Strange cloak. Henley made 47 feet of birdie putts on holes 16, 17, and 18, to jump from minus-nine to twelve-deep, and secured a spot in a playoff with Cole. The duo returned to the final tee, and put on a stripe show.

Both golfers found the fairway off the tee, and Henley improved on his regulation play with an approach to four feet. Cole did himself proud, tucking an iron to a dozen feet, but he was unable to convert the putt for three. Henley is one of the best putters on tour, and he proved it once more by draining a putt for a fourth consecutive birdie, and a sixth PGA Tour title. For Eric Cole, that first victory should come, and soon. He has done everything necessary to earn the chalice lift.

Henley’s Suitcase

Driver: Titleist TSi3 at 10 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 70g 6.5 TX
Metal: Titleist TS3 at 16.5 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist TSi2 at 21 degrees. Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT hybrid 100 TX
Iron: Titleist T250 4-iron. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 5-6 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 7-9 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 48 and 50 degrees. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 54 and 60 degrees. Shaft: rue Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue S400
Putter: Titleist Scotty Cameron T5 Tour Prototype

LPGA @ Shoprite LPGA: Welcome back, Celine!

Soo Bin Joo had her eyes on a maiden LPGA title. She held the lead after two rounds, then hit a red light at the intersection of can-I and how-To. Joo posted plus-two on day three in New Jersey, and dropped to a T4 finish, which was still a career-best for the young Korean golfer. Instead of a new face, a familiar face returned to the top of the podium.

Celine Boutier was the It Girl in 2023. She collected four victories, including a major title at Evian. Boutier reached world number one status, then simply faded into the background. No wins came her way over the next 30 months. On Sunday, she collected LPGA victory number seven, at the same trace as LPGA victory number two.

Day three saw Boutier manage the windswept Seaview Bay course with six birdies and a bogey. She was challenged in the end by Thailand’s Arpichaya Yubol, who signed for a 66 of her own. Yubol came up one shot shy of the top ladder rung. Finishing in third place at -7, two back of the winner, was Ireland’s Lauren Walsh.

Celine’s Suitcase

Driver: PXG 0311 Black Ops Tour-1 at 9 degrees. Shaft: Graphite Design AD IZ-5
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Black Ops at 19 and 22 degrees. Shaft: KBS Hybrid Prototype
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Gen5.
Iron: PXG 0311 P Gen 4 5-9 irons
Wedge: PXG 0311 T Gen 4 PW
Wedges: PXG 0311 Sugar Daddy II at 50, 54, 58 degrees
Putter: Bettinardi Studio Stock 3 DASS

DP World Tour @ Austrian Alpine: KK? KK!

Kota Kaneko has a rhythmic name. It has strong vowels and a run of voiceless stops in its crunchy K sounds. On Sunday in Austria, Kaneko put a stop to a challenge from Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia and everyone else, and claimed a first-ever title on the DP World Tour. Gouveia did well to reach 16-under par over four days, but Kaneko held firm, two shots in the clear.

Davis Bryant of the USA also forged a strong challenge for the win. He ended in a tie with Gouveia for second place. Kaneko began and finished his final round in a bit of a malaise, but he caught fire midway through. Birdies at 10, 12, and 13 provided the necessary cushion to cruise to the finish line without breaking a serious sweat.

Kaneko’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping Max G440
Metals: TaylorMade Qi4D at 15, 16.5, 21, and 24 degrees
Irons: TaylorMade P760 5 and 6 irons
Irons: TaylorMade P7TW 7-9 irons
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design at 46, 52, 56, and 60 degrees
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Cruiser Arm Lock #7

Korn Ferry Tour @ UNC Health Championship: Improbably Alvaro

Alvaro Ortiz may have had a bit of scare on the outward nine on Sunday, but he came through in clutch fashion in the end. Ortiz began the day bogey-double, and added another double bogey at the 11th hole. He was mired in a downward trend, spiraling away from the top of the leader’s board. Ortiz found hope at the 14th, where his first birdie of the day tumbled home. Inspired, he closed with birdies and 17 and 18 to catch Ross Steelman at 10-under par, and the duo returned to the 18th deck for overtime.

The extra session concluded in brief time. Ortiz, buoyed by his newly-retrieved confidence, hit the fairway with driver, then approached to six feet and drained the putt. Gobsmacked, Steelman could do little more than smile and applaud, as his run at the top came to a close. The victory was the first for Ortiz on the KFT, and will implant him squarely in the chase for a PGA Tour promotion.

Alvaro’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping G430 MAX driver at 9 degrees loft
Metal: Ping G430 MAX 3W
Iron: Ping iDi Driving Iron
Irons: Ping Blueprint S irons
Wedges
Putter: Scottsdale TR Piper C

A party on the green!

Alvaro’s time comes in Raleigh with his first win @UNCHealthChamp ? pic.twitter.com/2dmtZdbSzk

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) May 31, 2026

LIV @ Korea: Me llamo Joaquin

Chile’s Joaquin Niemann had been away from the LIV winner’s circle throughout all of 2026. This week in Korea, he reminded us that he is still a force to consider. Niemann chased down Taylor Gooch over the closing holes at Asiad Country Club, then claimed victory with a hole-one birdie in extra time. Bryson DeChambeau claimed solo third, one shot in arrears at minus-eleven. Dustin Johnson finished on fourth, one putt farther back.

Niemann’s Suitcase