– There has been much talk and writing about the ‘J. J. Spaun case’ when he lost that playoff at THE PLAYERS this year to Rory McIlroy: this player is probably, or could become, much better than he thinks. Than we all think. But things are thought for a reason: there are hardly any flaws in his game, but the same cannot be said for his mentality. It was demonstrated, for example, in that three-hole playoff at TPC Sawgrass: Rory barely had to step on the gas to outplay him, after Spaun missed the chance to win on the 72nd hole of the tournament. In this aspect, self-confidence, he runs on a diesel engine. He is 34 years old and still has plenty of room for improvement. But the fact is that he has been able to open a US Open at Oakmont with a round of 66 strokes, without bogeys. The only flawless card of the day. Walking makes the path, and the Californian (with American, Filipino, and Mexican blood running through his veins) has not stopped taking steps in recent times. The proof is that right now he is Number 25 in the world and has never been higher in this ranking in his career.
– Spaun’s start was one of the two big news of the day. The other was Scottie Scheffler‘s stumble, who has made life incredibly difficult with that first round of 73 strokes that puts him seven strokes behind the leader. Let’s see. We have to go back to 1998 to find a US Open winner who started Thursday seven strokes behind the leader. It happened to Lee Janzen that year at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, but even Janzen’s position was slightly more favourable than Scottie’s, as he started in 38th place, while the Texan is currently 49th. It goes without saying that Scheffler is practically playing his hand on one card this Friday. Janzen, for example, on that occasion, signed the best card of the day on Friday, a 66, and climbed to fourth place, two strokes behind the leader.
– The third major event on Thursday is the emergence of Brooks Koepka. And it’s not just any emergence. It’s that of the best specialist in majors since Tiger Woods, even ahead of the Scheffler tsunami and despite his lacklustre performance in these tournaments since winning the PGA in 2023, including the two missed cuts this year at the Masters and the PGA.
The return to the right path has a specific and perfectly situated reason in space and time. Last week, in the days leading up to the LIV Virginia tournament, he ‘locked’ himself with his team on the practice range at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, hours and hours, hundreds and hundreds of balls, and they found the root of the problem. “My perception of where the golf club was and where it really was was off by about eight or nine inches (around 20 centimetres). We spent all last week on the practice range; I didn’t play on the course on Tuesday or Wednesday. We just sat on the practice range and hit balls for many hours last week. And everything started to fall into place. I’m starting to see how the ball flight evolves, where it becomes a nice little fade, and I no longer have the miss on both sides. Now it’s very consistent,” explained the Florida player.
Consistent he was. It’s true that Koepka benefited from the bonus on the 4th hole, where he sank a twelve-metre putt for eagle, but let’s not kid ourselves, his final -2 probably didn’t do full justice to the exhibition he put on in all areas of the game. Just one doubt, to put a ‘but’: these technical reconstructions must be tested or confirmed in moments of maximum pressure, which are yet to come, especially on Sunday.
But it’s the look Brooks gives in the Majors, when he’s still in the mix, that should worry the rest. Sharp and almost absent, a true reflection of him tinkering inside his bubble. His discipline in strategy is also a gift in US Open weeks: yesterday he hit with the driver like in his best times, but then he kept aiming for the centre of the green, again and again, without taking the bait, without falling into temptation…
– This very week, as Brooks himself revealed, he had a long talk with Pete Cowen, his renowned coach, who didn’t mince words: “I’ll keep what we talked about between us. I didn’t like it, but it’s something I think you need to hear, or that I needed to hear at the right time. It’s not the first time he’s done it. He’s not afraid. I don’t like having yes-men around me. I just want someone to tell me the truth, to tell me what’s going on, what they see. If I start doubting being Brooks Koepka, I want someone to tell me, and he did an excellent job,” stated the five-time Major winner, who after the urgent trip to the workshop, now sees and feels his swing, pay attention, as he saw and felt it in 2013. These players are crazy.
