Brooks Koepka is the forgotten member of Team USA

After failing to get through the Monday qualifier but cracking the field when David Berganio Jr. withdrew on Wednesday, Cinderella story Nate Lashley, 36, goes wire-to-wire to capture his first PGA TOUR title at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Welcome to the Monday Finish, where Lashley became the first alternate to win on TOUR since Vaughn Taylor at the 2016 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and moved from 132nd all the way to 40th in the FedExCup. He also won job security, at long last, after a hardscrabble and at times heart-wrenching early career. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1. Lashley is an overnight success – 15 years in the making. Suffice it to say almost no one saw this coming, as just six people in the PGA TOUR’s fantasy golf game had Lashley in their lineups. He had just one top-10 finish in 32 previous TOUR starts, and was 132nd in the FedExCup and 353rd in the Official World Golf Ranking. (He climbed to 40th and 101st, respectively.) He didn’t know where he was playing week to week, having earned just 188 of the 209 points needed in eight starts of his minor medical extension. Now he can say goodbye to all that uncertainty. He’s ditched the Monday qualifiers, and earned spots in the 2019 Open Championship, and 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions, THE PLAYERS Championship, Masters Tournament and PGA Championship, among others. He did it with spectacular iron play, leaving himself with 10 feet or less on 22 of his 28 birdies. “I’m just really grateful that I got into the tournament,â€� he said. “…It’s a dream come true.â€�   For more on Lashley’s life-changing win, click here. 2. This one packed an emotional punch. A 2004 plane crash killed Lashley’s parents, Rod and Char, and his girlfriend, Leslie Hofmeister. They were in Rod’s four-seat, single-engine plane, headed home to Nebraska after watching Nate (University of Arizona) play in the NCAA West Regional in Oregon. Soldiering on, Lashley turned pro but struggled, at one point taking a break from golf to pursue real estate. Although still coming to grips with the tragedy, he returned and began to claw his way back, winning on the Gateway, EGolf and Dakotas mini-tours before a banner, three-win season on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica in 2015. A victory two years later on the Korn Ferry Tour (Corales Puntacana Resort) made him a PGA TOUR rookie last season at 35. No surprise that when he won in Detroit, he shared a tearful embrace with his sister, Brooke. “I’ve been through a lot,â€� Lashley said. “It took a lot of years for me to get over my parents’ death, for sure. It was mentally holding me back for a long time.â€� 3. Doc Redman won plenty with a solo second. The 2017 U.S. Amateur champion from Clemson earned 300 non-member FedExCup points to secure special temporary membership on the PGA TOUR for the remainder of this season. Redman can now accept unlimited sponsor exemptions for the rest of 2018-’19, and if he earns as many or more points as No. 125 in this year’s final FedExCup standings (he has 344; for reference, last season’s No. 125 had 377) he will secure full status on TOUR for next season. “I knew what was at stake,â€� said Redman, who got into the Rocket Mortgage field through the Monday qualifier, “but I was trying not to think about it. I actually didn’t even think about The Open Championship until someone said it to me after. But it’s awesome, I can’t wait.â€� 4. Victor Hovland is loving life as a pro. The Oklahoma State product shot a final-round 64, one of the best rounds of the day, to finish T13 in just his second start as a professional. This, after making the cut on the number. “I definitely heard a lot of people that wanted me to do well,â€� Hovland said of the energy at Detroit Golf Club, which he said reminded him of home for its tree-lined fairways and old-school feel. “That’s really cool. I mean, I’m just a 21-year-old from Norway and you’ve got Americans cheering on me. It’s still a little crazy for me to think about, but I really appreciate it.â€� 5. Patrick Reed is heading in the right direction. His 2-under 70 – on a day when he admittedly didn’t have his A game or anything close – left him with a T5 finish, his best since a fourth at the 2018 U.S. Open. He shot up 11 to 62nd in the FedExCup, and up two to 20th in U.S. Presidents Cup standings. “It’s always on my mind,â€� Reed told the Golf Channel, when asked about making U.S. Captain Tiger Woods’ team that will take on the International side at Royal Melbourne, Dec. 12-15. “If I continue doing what I’m doing … then hopefully it all takes care of itself.â€� FIVE INSIGHTS 1. Lashley was spot-on with his irons, with 22 of his 28 birdies coming from 10 feet or less. He was sixth in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green (+1.388), second in SG: Putting (+2.332), 13th in SG: Around-the-Green (+0.452), and T29 in SG: Off-the-Tee (+0.l66). 2. This marked the sixth wire-to-wire victory on TOUR (no ties) since 2017, and the first since Brooks Koepka at the PGA Championship at Bethpage. Lashley was 14 under par on the par 4s, making it the best par-4 performance by a winner on TOUR this season. 3. Lashley (2-under 70) joined an exclusive club. He became one of a select few to shoot 70 or higher on the way to a six-plus-stroke victory on TOUR. The last to do it was Tiger Woods at the 2013 World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational (70, seven-shot win), and most recent before that was Louis Oosthuizen at the 2010 Open Championship (71, seven-shot win). 4. Brian Stuard, a native of Jackson, Michigan, shot a 4-under 68 to finish T5, his second top-five finish this season. The other: T4 at the Valero Texas Open. He moved to 69th in the FedExCup. 5. Hovland (64, T13), Brandt Snedeker (67, T5), Joaquin Niemann (68, T5) and Joey Garber (69, T29) shot the day’s only bogey-free rounds. It was the second straight T5 finish for Niemann, 20, who has gone from 140th to 89th in the FedExCup in the last two weeks. WYNDHAM REWARDS The Wyndham Rewards Top 10 is in its first season and adds another layer of excitement to the FedExCup Regular Season. The top 10 players at the end of the FedExCup Regular Season will earn bonus payouts from the Wyndham Rewards Top 10. Matt Kuchar remains No. 1, and there were no changes among the rest of the all-important Top 10. Just four weeks and six tournaments remaining until the start of the Wyndham Championship, the last event of the FedExCup Regular Season.

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Here are nine tidbits from the final round of the 118th United States Open that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., is hosting for the fifth time in history and plays 7,440 yards to a Par-70. National Champion Again Brooks Koepka fired a final round 68 to post 281 to win his second consecutive United States Open. The podium was rounded off by Englishman Tommy Fleetwood (282) and 2016 champion Dustin Johnson (283). There were plenty of questions about the selection and set-up of Erin Hills last year. Koepka couldn’t care less about those questions as he beat that Par-72 windless layout into oblivion. The course with wide fairways and huge greens with four Par-5 holes didn’t resemble a “true” U.S. Open layout or challenge. Koepka’s winning score of 16-under tied the record in relation to par and people grumbled. He returned as the reigning champion this year, hustling to get into form because of a wrist injury suffered late last year, to a course that was the quintessential opposite of the one he defeated, rather easily, last year. The beast that is Shinnecock Hills would test his wrist, mettle and entire bag and he passed again with flying colors. Koepka finished second in driving distance yet just T55 in fairways. He found 49 of 72 GIR, the fourth-best effort of the week. He circled 14 birdies, also the fourth-best effort. His final round in the penultimate group with buddy Dustin Johnson saw him circle five birdies against just one bogey before his safety-first approach on the final green with a two-shot lead. I can hear the gamers screaming “where were you last week in Memphis” as he was the most-selected player in both PGA TOUR games. Given the choice of last week versus this week, I can’t argue with you. Only six previous players have defended their title so winning this week would be some feat at just 28. With Koepka winning on a “new” school course followed by a historical classic, it’s clear he’s worthy of a look regardless of the event. His last 11 majors have included two titles and nothing worse than T21 as he cements his place as one of the young studs on TOUR. Know Thy Enemy These were the top-10 selected golfers, plus one, in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf game presented by SERVPRO. Rickie Fowler’s weekend of 84-65 was interesting so hopefully gamers played him on the right day! Based on the above, some might have been stuck, like I was, using him in both rounds. Luckily for me I had Mickelson with him on Saturday and they earned me MINUS FIVE points. Not awesome. PAIN OR GAIN These were the top-10 selected golfers (plus one) in the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO: Tough week for Johnson’s investors but a podium finish is a little easier to take than a few of the results on the table above. Only one guy can win but it’s evident this THE major to play Johnson. Tommy, Boy! Tommy Fleetwood adds his name to the list of players who have signed for 63 in a major championship. He also adds his name to the list of players that didn’t win while doing so. His eight birdies, after making zero during a 78 in Round 3, were cancelled out by just one bogey. He had an eight-footer on the last to tie the major championship record of 62 set just last summer at Royal Birkdale by Braden Grace. Fleetwood backed up his fourth-place money at Erin Hills last year with solo second Sunday, his best finish in a major. Just Missed, Again Dustin Johnson’s U.S Open history is colorful, pitiful and filled with plenty of “what if” and this edition adds to this novel. He was magnificent over the first 36 holes on the more difficult side of the draw, leading by four at the half-way point. His weekend saw him post 77 in Round 3 and yet began the final round tied for first. His final round of 70, even par, wasn’t good enough to win, force a playoff or even take home second place alone. Yeah, it was a strange week to say the least. Captain America Patrick Reed improved every round and his 68 on Sunday was the best of the bunch. He birdied five of his first seven holes to ignite the grand slam conversation. He ran out of magic as he came home in 37 but his last three finishes in a major are stout. He was T2 at the PGA Championship, picked up his first major at Augusta and solo fourth, his best finish and first top-10 payday at the U.S. Open. Drive for Dough Entering the week Tony Finau (5th) checked in at No. 2 in driving distance and No. 195 in driving accuracy. The first number was a plus but the second surely had to be a hindrance. Nope. He found just enough fairways (T51) and GIR (T12) that led to 17 birdies, the most in the event. Playing with Daniel Berger in the final group after his outstanding 66 Saturday morning, his 72 led to his second consecutive top-10 payday in the majors. This one did not involve a dislocated ankle though! Finau has a top 10 at every major with the exception of the Open Championship. Length travels. Sunday Silence Playing in his first final group in a major Daniel Berger signed for 73 and shared sixth. He’s now cashed at Pinehurst, Oakmont and Shinnecock Hills while just missing at Erin Hills. His worst finish in three Masters is T32. These are clues folks! This experience will be stored away in the memory bank for next time. He’ll be in play for gamers this week at the Travelers Championship as he lost in a playoff to Spieth last year. … Justin Rose was stalking the lead entering the weekend but 73-73 in the final 36 holes knocked him back to T10. That’s four top 10’s in just seven of 13 made cuts for the Englishman in this event. This one stings for gamers as he was one out of the lead on the first tee Sunday. … Jim Furyk began the day T7 and shot 80 to finish T48. Study Hall The final round scoring average was 72.180 (+2.180), the easiest round of the week by almost 1.5 shots. After the uproar on Saturday I don’t think many gamers were surprised to see birdies and lack of others in the final round. … The scoring average for the week was 74.650 as 67 players who made the cut finished worse than par. … There were zero bogey-free rounds recorded for the round and for the week. … LSU rising senior Luis Gagne and Mid Amateur champ Matt Parziale shared the low amateur (T48).

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