Brooks Koepka has revealed a 45-minute rollicking from the no-nonsense Englishman in his corner was responsible for his resurgence at the US Open.
The five-time major winner rebounded from back-to-back missed cuts at the Masters and the PGA Championship by firing his way to a first-round 68 at Oakmont to sit just two shots off JJ Spaun’s lead.
Koepka has now credited his turnaround to 74-year-old Yorkshireman Pete Cowen, his coach, who tore strips off him over his attitude at the start of the week.
The American said: ‘It’s nice to put a good round together. It’s been a while. I’ve been working hard, just got into some bad habits and bad swing positions. Pete got into me on Monday, in the bunker for about 45 minutes. I just sat there, and he scolded me pretty well.
‘I’ll put it this way: JT (Justin Thomas) thought he had to come check on me in the bunker. We were in there for about 45 minutes, and he (Thomas) was on the other side of the green.
‘I saw him Monday night. We were at a Rolex function. He was like, “I was worried; your head was down”. I wasn’t happy with it, but it was something I think you need to hear or I needed to hear at the right time. It’s not the first time he’s done it. He’s not afraid to.
Brooks Koepka says a rollicking from English coach Pete Cowen explains his US Open revival
The five-time major winner rebounded from back-to-back missed cuts at the Masters and the PGA Championship by firing his way to a first-round 68 at Oakmont
‘I don’t like having “yes” people around me. I just want somebody to tell me the truth, tell me what’s going on, what they see.
‘If I start swaying from being Brooks Koepka, then I want someone to call me out on it, and he did a helluva job on it.’
Koepka added: ‘I would say from the first weekend in April until about last week, you didn’t want to be around me. It drove me nuts. It ate at me.
‘I haven’t been happy. It’s been very irritating. I had to apologise to everybody. I wouldn’t have wanted to be around me.’
