The most powerful force in golf right now is not Bryson DeChambeau’s driver or Tiger Woods’ long irons. It is the mind of Brooks Koepka. This has been a crazy year, for golf and the world and for Koepka himself, but part of Koepka’s genius is that in the biggest moments, he thinks about exactly what he should think about, and nothing more. Pandemic, knee injury, slump, rankings, a disappointing finish last week—none of these are on the list. Koepka’s brain comes equipped with the world’s most efficient eraser.
He showed up to TPC Harding Park seeking his fifth major and his third straight PGA Championship, and the only real reason to call him the favorite is that he is Brooks Koepka.