st<\/sup> on the PGA Tour in fairways hit and 98th in greens in regulation.\u00a0He answered critics by finishing first in greens in regulation and tied for fourth in fairways hit.<\/p>\nAnother concern for anyone handicapping the nation\u2019s championship was his experience. He had only won once on the PGA Tour since turning professional in 2012.<\/p>\n
Looking at his performance in the biggest tournaments, however, should have been a clue. In his previous 10 major championships, he finished in the top 20 seven times, including a tie for fourth in the 2014 US Open and a tie for 13th<\/sup> last year.<\/p>\nFavorites Falter Fabulously<\/h2>\n
Those who were the top choices to win, didn\u2019t even make it past two rounds. Defending champion and No. 1 pick, Dustin Johnson was pegged at 7-1. He missed the cut. So did No. 2 player in the world, Rory McIlroy, who was next at 8-1. Jason Day, who was ranked No. 3 in the world and was tabbed at 10-1, wasn\u2019t around for the weekend either.<\/p>\n
The only player who had odds of 10-1 or better to play all four rounds, was Jordan Spieth. The 9-1 selection finished tied for 35th<\/sup>.<\/p>\nThe top of the leaderboard had plenty of potential payouts beside Koepka. Hideki Matsuyama tied for second and was 30-1. Fourth place finisher, Tommy Fleetwood was 125-1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Usually it is the golf course that brings players to its knees in a US Open, but 40-1 long shot, Brooks Koepka, decided to reverse conventional thinking. The 27-year-old muscled his way to his first major championship, Sunday, winning by four strokes and tying a record in relation to par at 16-under. But as much […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":52627,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Long Shot off Tee and in Sports Books, Brooks Koepka, Wins US Open<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n