Dustin Johnson is inarguably one of the very best golfers of his generation. The 36-year old has won 21 times in his 13-year PGA Tour career. No one has won more titles over this span. But for all the times he’s made his way to the winner’s circle, only once has it occurred during a major – the 2016 U.S. Open.
Brooks Koepka, on the other hand, is the antithesis to DJ. He is rarely seen claiming victory at regular Tour events, but seems to save his best for the majors. The 30-year old star has won four of the last 10 majors he’s entered, while finishing runner-up in two others. A sixty-percent clip of 1-2 finishes is unheard of – even from the likes of Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.
And he’s not shy to let you know.
“There’s a few guys around you with one major, you’ve obviously got more. Was the second one harder to win?” he was asked, about the likes of Jason Day (2015 PGA), Justin Rose (2013 U.S. Open), and Johnson (2016 U.S. Open) appearing on the leaderboard.
Koepka, though, singled out Johnson, saying, “Well, if you look at the TOP of the leaderboard, I’d say yes.”
When asked what makes the second major win so difficult, Koepka said, “I think expectations. I think — I guess it does become difficult if you think you’ve played good enough to win multiple ones.
“But you’ve just got to keep putting yourself there. I’m doing a good job of that.
“But the second one definitely is a little bit tougher, I think, as you can see from the top of the leaderboard.”
Finally, when asked about the “role reversal” from last year, where he was being chased by DJ, Koepka took another shot at his buddy.
“I mean, I like my chances. When I’ve been in this position before, I’ve capitalized,” said Koepka. “I don’t know, he’s [Johnson] only won one. I’m playing good. I don’t know, we’ll see.”
Get ready.
CBS has the broadcast starting at 3 pm.
Should be fun.
