Brooks Koepka named PGA Tour player of the year

Brooks Koepka has been named the 2017-18 PGA Tour player of the year after a successful season that included winning two major titles

The PGA TOUR announced today that Brooks Koepka has been named the 2018 PGA TOUR Player of the Year as voted by the TOUR’s membership for the 2017-18 season.

“On behalf of the PGA TOUR, our congratulations to Brooks Koepka on being voted PGA TOUR Player of the Year by his peers,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan.

“Brooks has brought a new brand of athleticism to the PGA TOUR, and we saw the results this year with his historic season at the major championships and a top-10 finish in the FedExCup. These feats were accomplished despite missing significant time due to injury, a testament to his work ethic and perseverance throughout the season.”

It won’t be a huge surprise to many that 28-year-old Koepka was voted for by his peers to receive the Jack Nicklaus Trophy, having claimed both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship in 2018.

Koepka’s successful season, which included two majors and four other top 10s, is all the more impressive given he missed the first part of the season (and the first major of the year) with a wrist injury. 

He made his return at the Wells Fargo Championship in May, before becoming the seventh player in US Open history (and first since 1989) to successfully defend their title a month later in his fifth start back at Shinnecock Hills. 

Koepka’s third major championship came quickly after. You would have been forgiven for not thinking he’d achieved the feat though: He didn’t even wait to have the final putt of the championship, and there was no outburst of emotion as he tapped in for par putt and let playing partner Adam Scott have those final hole honours. But emotion or not, it was a feat even Koepka said seemed a ‘laughable’ prospect at the start of the year. 

“Looking where I was, sitting on my couch watching the Masters, and to think I would do this, I would have laughed at you and told you there was no way, no chance,” Koepka had said at the time. “And to do it is really incredible.”

With those victories, Koepka joined Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan as one of only five players to win both the US Open and PGA Championship in the same year. He also joined Jordan Spieth, Woods, Nicklaus and Tom Watson as the only players with three majors before turning 30 since World War II.

As for the PGA Tour Player of the year honours, he’d all but wrapped those up in the views of the players. He’d already been endorsed by major champions Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas, as they both asserted two major victories in one year should automatically guarantee the accolade. 

“It’s not real complicated,” Woods said when referring to Koepka’s year on Tour. “You win two majors, you’ve got it.” 

Thomas had echoed those sentiments when the PGA Tour offered up options for the Player of the Year, writing on twitter ‘Just give BK the trophy! #majorstrumpall’. He was also one of the first players to offer his congratulations to Koepka after it was announced he had won the honours.

Koepka was selected for the honour over Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Francesco Molinari, Justin Rose and Justin Thomas.

DJ, who it was widely speculated had fought with his friend Koepka at the Ryder Cup, also offered his congratulations.