Top 30 Players to Watch in 2019: No. 2 Brooks Koepka

OVERVIEW Brooks Koepka thrives on the feeling of being slighted. He fuels up on convincing himself he’s not getting the kudos he deserves. He will probably take the fact he’s not No. 1 in this countdown as some form of motivation. The current PGA TOUR Player of the Year wants to prove people wrong … always. Last season he won two majors – defending his U.S. Open crown and winning the PGA Championship. One was a grind; the other needed plenty of birdies and had to be done under the trying circumstances of an emotional Tiger Woods Sunday surge. Oh and this was done in a season where he missed extended time with a wrist injury. He then kicked off his 2018-19 season with a win at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES. The takeaway is Koepka can win under most conditions as long as he is switched on and ready to compete. Because if will is involved … he’s got plenty. So the thing to watch with the now 28-year-old is how he takes it up a notch from here. How can he find the villains in his competitive life when people are stopping and taking notice? In the interest of helping we will state something he hasn’t done yet: Win the FedExCup. He’s never finished worse than 35th in the season-long race and has made it to East Lake three of his four full seasons but last year’s ninth place finish remains his best. Can he prove himself the most consistent performer on TOUR? That would certainly put even more polish on an already impressive resume. Last season he made significant improvements in his approach and short game around the greens which allowed for a slight dip in his putting prowess. If he can mirror up the putter with those improvements, he will be the standard others need to replicate. — By Ben Everill Click here to see who else made the Top 30 list. BY THE NUMBERS FEDEXCUP UPDATE Current 2018-19 position: 4th Playoff appearances: 4 TOUR Championship appearances: 3 Best FedExCup result: 9th in the 2017-18 season SHOTLINK FUN FACT Of his 62 rounds played last season, Brooks Koepka shot 69 or better 36 times, a sub-70 percentage rate of 58 percent. INSIDER INSIGHTS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Brooks Koepka in 2019. TOUR INSIDER: This guy is quite the case study. He became so good at riding the motivation of being an underdog he now spends more time trying to convince himself he’s still one than embracing the brilliant performer he is. Power coupled with mental strength and an ever-improving short game make Koepka a guy you can never sleep on. Let’s see how he copes with being the guy with the target on his back … I’m guessing well. — By Ben Everill FANTASY INSIDER: Anytime a golfer performs well when expected, I’ve always stated that it’s always nice when he fulfills his projection. After all, golf (and golf prognostication) can be a folly. Meanwhile, longer-term objectives can be easier to see with experienced sets of eyes. So, it comes as no surprise to this analyst that he’d scale to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking because it’s exactly what I suggested was next for him in last year’s Top 30. The knock – that he has echoed – is that he doesn’t win enough non-majors despite having two U.S. Open trophies and a Wanamaker Trophy in possession is like saying that there’s not enough ice cream to go with the sprinkles. — By Rob Bolton EQUIPMENT INSIDER: While Reed may be the current face of equipment-contract-free professional golfers, Koepka is the winningest. Since Nike left the equipment space, Koepka has won two U.S. Opens, a PGA Championship and THE CJ CUP, all without an equipment contract. Most notably, Koepka uses irons that were literally designed for him: Mizuno’s JPX 900 Tour. He started using them in 2017 after Nike left, and he still has them in the bag. Mizuno, however, has come out with a new version of those clubs: JPX-919 Tour irons. Koepka hasn’t made the switch into the new irons yet, but it’s something we might see in 2019. While Koepka opts for TaylorMade metalwoods, Titleist Vokey wedges and a Scotty Cameron putter, he still uses a Nike Vapor Fly Pro driving iron. Maybe that will come out of the bag in 2019, too. — By Andrew Tursky STYLE INSIDER: Koepka is yet another athletic player with explosive power who is a perfect fit for Nike’s cutting-edge apparel and footwear. Although Brooks favors traditional looks and colors, he is quick to adopt new technologies. He was one of the first players to put the laceless Nike Tour Premiere shoe with FastFit lockdown technology into play. Expect more of the same from the three-time major winner in 2019. — By Greg Monteforte

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