SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Brooks Koepka was a baseball player before he became a golfer, so perhaps no one should be surprised by what he is poised to pull off on Sunday at the 118th United States Open.
Koepka won last year’s tournament in Wisconsin by attacking the Erin Hills course like a pitcher throwing high and hard fastballs. On Saturday, he positioned himself to become the first repeat champion since Curtis Strange in 1989 by nibbling around Shinnecock Hills’ greens with his off-speed stuff.