ST ANDREWS — Brooks Koepka ended his season in style with an eagle from 40 feet on the iconic 18th hole at the Old Course in St Andrews. The closing final-round 66 at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship delivered a sixth-place tie at 16-under total, four shots behind winner Adrian Meronk.
Koepka ripped a 337-yard drive onto the green on the par-4 18th and converted the putt from what the DP World Tour measured as 41 feet to cap the 66. The finish followed a frustrating PGA Tour campaign that left the 36-year-old candid about his form. "I think it's pretty pathetic that I can't get through," Koepka said that week at Sedgefield. "Zero top-10s basically in two years. To be in the prime of your career and be as good as I think I am, I think that's very pathetic, disappointing. Just need to go home and completely reevaluate everything."
Now ranked No. 129 in the world, the five-time major champion missed four cuts during the PGA Tour season, withdrew in Canada and posted his best finish as a ninth-place tie at the Cognizant Classic at PGA National. He dealt with pain in his arm and hand for a few weeks during the summer where he was unable to grip a golf club properly, then tied for 67th at the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield, the tour's last regular season event, and missed the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Since then he has played three times in Europe, tying for 55th at the Irish Open and missing the cut at the BMW PGA Championship before the closing eagle in Scotland.
It is only early October, but Koepka's wife Jena posted a video on social media of their son Crew watching his father make eagle on the 18th hole with the caption, "heck of a way to end the season, BK." Koepka started the week 98th in the FedEx Cup standings through the fall, with the top 100 securing exempt status on the PGA Tour for next year, but he is not expected to play a fall event. His victory at the 2023 PGA Championship gave him exempt status through 2028, which now stands after he accepted the terms of the Returning Member Program and was reinstated to the PGA Tour following his time with LIV Golf. The strong finish in Scotland came a day after Casey Jarvis led the Dunhill Links by two after a 65 at St Andrews.