Overcoming Injury, doubt; Brooks Koepka Returns To The Ryder Cup

"No one knows all the pain."

That was Brooks Koepka in May after winning the PGA Championship for his fifth major victory and first since 2019.

A seemingly strange statement at a triumphant time, but it had been a turbulent few years for Koepka.

He had reached the peak of the sport at the end of the 2010s, becoming the world's best player and winning four majors in three years between 2017 and '19. He was part of the dominant 2021 U.S. Ryder Cup team, but dark times ensued as years of injuries took their toll.

Koepka's injury woes began in August 2019, when he had stem cell treatment to repair a partially torn left patella tendon; however, he re-tore the tendon after slipping at the CJ Cup that September, causing him to miss three months. In 2020, his knee troubles aggravated the labrum in his left hip.

The following year, shortly after winning the WM Phoenix Open, Koepka dislocated and shattered his right kneecap. He underwent surgery and returned at the Masters less than two months later, playing through the injury.

In the months following the 2021 Ryder Cup, Koepka began to show a nuanced side, contrary to his usual confident self, which was evident when he was featured in Netflix's "Full Swing" docu-series.

"I'm going to be honest with you, I can’t compete with these guys week in and week out," Koepka said in the series.

Yet there he was, PGA Champion, out from the darkness and into the bright lights of one of the game’s biggest stages. And leveraging that win to step back onto an even larger stage - the Ryder Cup.

“Last years have been a lot,” Koepka said after he was selected as one of Zach Johnson’s Captain’s picks, “but at the same time, that's what I've been grinding for. That's what I've been trying to get back into shape and 100% feel good, just for this moment and get out and go play with the team.”

But before the 33-year-old returns for his fourth straight Ryder Cup with hopes to continue his climb back to stardom by helping the U.S. Team end a 30-year winless drought on foreign soil at Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome, it’s important to recognize and appreciate the upward trajectory that reset Koepka’s course.

First, as Koepka was close to being fully recovered, he re-hired his old swing coach, Claude Harmon III.

By the time this year's Masters rolled around, he felt he had his swagger back.

"I've been working really hard and feeling like everything is close ... I've taken a lot of confidence in that," he said.

Koepka opened with rounds of 65-67-73 and grabbed his third 54-hole in a major. However, it would be the first that he wouldn't convert, as Jon Rahm surpassed him to claim the green jacket. Koepka placed T-2 with a final-round 75.

It wouldn't be the same song and dance at the PGA, though. Koepka again nabbed the lead after Round 3 — using his Sunday at Augusta as motivation heading into the final round.

"I reflected all Sunday night (after the Masters)," Koepka said Thursday at Oak Hill. "I didn't sleep Sunday night just trying to figure out what exactly it was. Thought about it for a few days after and really honed in on what I was doing and what went wrong.

"From there just never let it happen again. That's the whole goal, right?"

Indeed. And Koepka did just that, holding off the world's best golfers, whom a year before he doubted if he could compete with again, to became the 20th player to win at least five majors.

He was back.

"I think this (major win) is probably the most meaningful of them all with everything that's gone on, all the crazy stuff over the last few years," Koepka said afterward.

His triumph propelled him to second on the U.S. Ryder Cup points list, but the only two events left in which he could garner points were the U.S. Open and Open Championship, where he finished T-17 and T-64, respectively.

The first six automatic qualifiers for this year’s Ryder Cup were finalized after the BMW Championship, and Xander Schauffele’s T-8 edged Koepka for the sixth and final berth by 29 points.

But there was no need to sweat it out. A week later when Johnson made his six captain’s selections, it was a no-brainer that Koepka would be joining the team in Rome.

“(Koepka is) built in my mind for the biggest of stages, and there's no bigger stage than the Ryder Cup,” Johnson said. “I think his record shows that. I know his buddies want him on the team. He's very versatile. Guys want to play with him. That's evident.

“I'm excited to have him go to Marco Simone on what will be the biggest stage in golf.”

And helping the U.S. Team to victory would be the cherry on top of Koepka’s comeback story.