Brooks Koepka: The Case for Golf's Most Dominant Major Championship Performer
Brooks Koepka has won five major championships: two US Opens (2017, 2018), two PGA Championships (2018, 2019), and the 2023 PGA Championship. He has also finished second in a major championship five times, including at the 2019 Masters and the 2021 Open Championship. His total of ten major championship top-2 finishes across 30 or so starts is a conversion rate of serious contention that exceeds any active player and rivals Tiger Woods in his prime. The case for Koepka as the defining major championship performer of the current era is based on a simple observation: he plays better in majors than he plays in regular tour events, and the gap is larger than any other player of his generation.
The European Grind
Koepka spent years on the European Tour after failing to earn his PGA Tour card, developing his game against international competition without the direct support structure of the American tour. This period — unglamorous, financially modest, conducted without the public profile that his eventual success would generate — is generally cited as the foundation of the specific resilience and self-reliance that defines his major championship performance. Players who earn their skills without institutional support tend to perform under pressure differently than players who develop within the academy environment; Koepka is the strongest modern example of the European grind producing a specific competitive character.
The Back-to-Back US Opens: 2017-2018
Koepka won the 2017 US Open at Erin Hills, then won the 2018 US Open at Shinnecock Hills — becoming the first player to win back-to-back US Opens since Curtis Strange in 1988-1989. The Shinnecock defense was conducted on one of the hardest-playing US Open setups in recent memory, in conditions where the USGA's setup pushed the scoring average well above par for most of the field. Koepka won by one shot.
The Back-to-Back PGA Championships: 2018-2019
Koepka followed his US Open wins with back-to-back PGA Championships — Bellerive in 2018 and Bethpage Black in 2019 — becoming the first player to win consecutive editions of the same major championship twice, in separate pairs. His total of four major championships in a two-year window (2017-2019) is the most concentrated period of major championship dominance since Tiger Woods's four-major run in 2000-2001.
LIV Golf and the Complicated Legacy
Koepka joined LIV Golf in 2022, which removed him from PGA Tour competition. His 2023 PGA Championship win — the first major won by a LIV Golf player while the two circuits were in open competition — was both a validation of his continued competitive standing and a complication for the narrative the PGA Tour had built around LIV players' fitness for major championship competition. The win demonstrated that LIV Golf had not diminished his major championship capability while simultaneously raising questions about what the Tour's eventual relationship with LIV would mean for major championship eligibility.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many majors has Brooks Koepka won?
Brooks Koepka has won five major championships: the US Open in 2017 and 2018, the PGA Championship in 2018, 2019, and 2023.
Is Brooks Koepka a LIV Golf player?
Yes. Koepka joined LIV Golf in 2022. He won the 2023 PGA Championship while competing on LIV Golf, becoming the first LIV player to win a major championship while the two tours were in formal competition with each other.