Brooks Koepka’s Crazy Stats: A Look Back At The 2018 Golf Season - Guest Post

Brooks Koepka’s miraculous 2018 season was almost derailed before the calendar struck January 1st, 2018.

A wrist injury in late December of 2017 was so severe that Koepka didn’t pick up a club for ninety-one days and forced the golfer to wear a soft cast for two months.

After sitting out the Masters, Koepka took the time to heal and focused his attention on defending his U.S. Open win in 2017. At Shinnecock, Koepka held off Tommy Fleetwood for a one-shot victory and won his second straight U.S. Open title.

Koepka added a victory to his major total later in 2018 at the PGA Championship.

So what made Koepka’s year so special? Here’s a deeper look at a few of the statistics that drove Koepka to be named the PGA Golfer of the Year in 2018.

Stat #1: 8th on the PGA Tour with Driving Distance of 313 yards

Due to the wrist injury in late 2017, Koepka wasn’t healthy enough to play in the 2018 Masters. So, despite missing almost the first third of the PGA Tour season, Koepka still finished the year with a Driving Distance average of 313 yards.

Koepka’s ability to hit the ball over 320 yards came into play during the final round of the 2018 PGA Championship. When many of the golfers were dealing with tough decisions off the tee box at Bellerive, Koepka was putting the golf ball in places only one other golfer could touch as he averaged 324.2 yards of driving distance, good for second at the 2018 PGA Championship. Koepka’s long drives were the primary reason why he posted six birdies during Sunday’s final round score of 66, good for a two-shot win over Tiger Woods.

Stat #2: 3rd on the PGA Tour with a 2nd-round scoring average of 68.94 strokes

Brooks made the cut in 15 out of the 17 tournaments he played in 2018. The reason he advanced into the weekend at such a high rate was because of his exceptional play during his Friday rounds.

Unlike his 2017 U.S. Open where he had two great rounds under his belt heading into the third round, Koepka struggled in round one of the 2018 U.S. Open. Brooks had two double bogeys and two bogeys over the opening 18 holes to finish with a 75 on Thursday. In danger of missing the cut, Koepka put together the most clutch second round of his career the following day. Six birdies against two bogeys in the second round put Koepka in a tie for third place and gave the Florida-native a renewed sense of confidence heading into the final two rounds.

At the 2018 PGA Championship, Koepka’s first round of 69 placed him five strokes behind the leader, but his record-tying 63 the next day vaulted him among the top players on the leaderboard and put him in a prime position to win his third career major.

Stat #3: 4th on the PGA Tour with a clubhead speed of 122.42 mph

When you look at the leaderboard of the hardest swingers on the PGA Tour, you’ll see several familiar names. Golfers with major victories such as Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, and Bubba Watson are all over the top of the leaderboard for highest average clubhead speed in 2018. Amateurs are catching onto the secret that professional golfers have known for years, that higher swing speed off the tee box equals shorter second shots that lead to better birdie chances.

Already known as one of the longest hitters on tour, Koepka’s raw swing speed statistics tell us why that is true. With an average clubhead speed of 122.42 mph, Brooks is one of the hardest swingers on tour, and his distance regularly puts him in a position to score low rounds. With a grip on the club of extreme quality, Koepka’s elite swing speed allows him to play the game with an aggressive and attacking style.

Stat #4: 1st on the PGA Tour with a Final-round scoring average of 68.27 strokes

One of Koepka’s most significant accomplishments in 2018 was his ability to close out tournaments when he had the lead. After playing an up-and-down first three rounds at the U.S. Open, Koepka needed a steady hand on the final Sunday to pick up his second straight U.S. Open title. With four golfers tied for the lead at the beginning of the fourth round, Koepka followed a shaky third round score of 72 with a title-clinching 68.

Koepka also needed an exceptional final round on the last day of the PGA Championship even though he held a four-stroke lead over Tiger Woods as both golfers teed off that day. But it didn’t seem like he would need to dig much after a birdie on the first hole pushed Koepka’s lead to five strokes. But a combination of two birdies by Woods and two bogeys by Koepka over the next four holes erased Koepka’s lead and made the final 13 holes appointment viewing for golf lovers everywhere.

Koepka stayed steady by bombing long drives over 320 yards to create multiple birdie opportunities over the last 12 holes. His five birdies down the stretch held off the resurgent Woods for his second major title of 2018.


Bio: Jordan Fuller is a golf enthusiast with over 25 years of experience on the green.

Over this lifetime, he’s fallen in love with the game and now teaches golf to amateur players in Omaha, Nebraska. He also loves to write and, every now and then, shares his learnings about the game in articles.


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An Odd Golf Coincidence?

For those people who believe in odd coincidences...Matt Kuchar and Lee Westwood have more of an attachment than just being pro golfers.

Was it just their "time" or did fate play a role in the same day wins of both Matt Kuchar and Lee Westwood? This fact, by itself, would appear coincidental but there's more...both golfers also won on the same day four years ago (April 20, 2014) and not again until this past Sunday (even though both have been in contention).

I wonder if any betting parlor determined the odds of this Kuchar - Westwood happening...a million to one? As much as lightning striking in the same place twice? Will this same occurrence happen again in 2022?

Being unable to solve this riddle, Golf for Beginners moves on to what Kuchar and Westwood did to secure their victories. Below are a few quotes from the pros.

Matt Kuchar was hoping to create more of a cushion for himself, "I certainly didn’t want a 3-footer on the last hole to win this thing, I was hoping to have a three-, four-shot lead and some wiggle room."

Lee Westwood's plan was to remain calm, aim and shoot at his target, "Until now, my emotions have felt really under control all day, which is what I’ve been working on. I was just trying to hit fairways and stick to my game plan and hit it in the right places.”

How can amateurs use Kuchar's and Westwood's plans to secure their own wins, whether it's with their regular foursome or at a business tournament?

To gain more of a cushion during your golf round, try hitting more safe shots to get onto the green in regulation, giving yourself more birdie opportunities.

As far as remaining calm, take a deep breath before each shot. With regards to aiming and shooting at a target, you should first have a repeatable pre-shot routine - after this process is "in the bag", try visualizing one shot at a time.


Photo by Peter Lewicki on Unsplash

Just When You Thought You Knew the Rules of Golf...

The rules of golf are in effect to protect all players - they can either help or hurt players during a round but it is essential to learn their lessons.

Below are several recent rules infractions and how professional golfers dealt with the consequences.

RULES INFRACTION #1: Rule 15-3b

This week, the world of golf is discussing the former NCAA women's champion who was DQ'd after playing a ball which had been deemed out of bounds and moved back into bounds, reportedly by her mother!

Former NCAA individual champion at USC, Doris Chen, played a golf ball that she knew had been moved back into bounds resulting in the rules breach. "Ms. Chen did not correct her error before teeing off on the next hole, thus resulting in the DQ penalty."

Golf Lesson learned by Doris Chen? "My caddie and I didn’t see anything happen. We were looking for the ball. I didn’t see the ball move,” Chen said. “It was just what the homeowner said. … In my mind, I thought I was just supposed to play the ball as it lied. … "

For all of the inexperienced golfers reading this, Miss Chen stated, "I realize now I should have called for a rules official to investigate."

RULES INFRACTION #2:  Scorecard Snafu

A group of Oregon State teens, unaware that they were playing from the wrong tee box were disqualified after reading a scorecard incorrectly.

Twelve high school students were supposed to play a hole which was 172 yards - even though they were playing the blue tees, the scorecard said that, for this hole, the red tees were playing a similar distance. The teens switched tee boxes and were made aware of their mistake after they finished the hole.

Golf Lesson Learned by the Oregon golfers? If there are any rules handed out before a tournament, read and stick to them. If there are any questions about the rules, see golf lesson learned by Doris Chen.

RULES INFRACTION #3: Golf ball collision

For the majority of players, knowing the rules of golf can also help you when there are no officials around, case in point, Xander Schauffele at the WGC-HSBC Champions Tournament.

Picture this: Final hole on Sunday with three golfers in contention, Schauffele, Finau, and Rose - Rose's golf ball collides with Schauffele, sending both balls into the water. After gasps subsided, Schauffele remembered Rule 18-5:

"According to the rule, which covers a ball at rest moved by another ball, Schauffele must replace his ball where it was previously on the green at no penalty. Rose, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky. He had to play his ball wherever it came to rest after the collision, and for him, that meant he had to take a drop on his way to a bogey 6."

The Rules of Golf are there to protect you and to make the game fair for all - sometimes, however, golfers, such as Justin Rose, suffer from them. Still, it's better to know the rules of any game in order to protect yourself.