Brooks Koepka From Wellington To The World Stage

Did you know that current U.S. Open and PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka grew up in Wellington and got his start at the junior golf program at a local public golf course?

Koepka, who also won the 2017 U.S. Open, honed his golf game on the Okeeheelee Golf Course. At Okeeheelee, Brooks, now 28, spent countless hours as a youngster hitting balls on the driving range, plus pitching, chipping and putting.

Brooks’ memories of his days playing at Okeeheelee are vivid. “Growing up at Okeeheelee was a blast!” he remembered. “We would get dropped off at 7:30 every morning, and we would get picked up at dark. I learned how to play the game there, and it will always hold a special place in my heart.”

He was not alone at Okeeheelee. He was joined by his younger brother, Chase, who currently plays professional golf on the European PGA Tour.

Brooks’ mother, Denise, recalls her oldest son saying, at age 12, that his career goal was to play professional golf.

Much of the credit for Brooks’ interest in golf must be given to his father.

“Brooks hit some of my cut-down clubs from the time he was three until I got him his first junior set of clubs at age seven to play in a tournament at Okeeheelee,” Bob Koepka recalled. “He liked golf at an early age, and from ages 7 to 12, he started showing a passion for the game, especially after I took him to the Masters at age eight.”

Those who have watched Brooks grow as a golfer have fond memories of his golfing childhood.

“I had the privilege and honor of coaching many fine golfers and many fine young men during my 10-plus years of coaching the golf team at Cardinal Newman High School,” recalled Greg Sherman, the future star’s high school golf coach. “I can’t really exactly say why Brooks stood out among them, but he did.”

Donna White, director of Golf Professional Services Inc., said that his passion for golf and his work ethic stood out. “He and his brother would play, play, play all day. He was always a serious player,” she said. “With such great facilities at Okeeheelee, Brooks had an advantage over other junior golfers in South Florida.”

Mary-Lee Cobick, president of the Junior Golf Foundation of America, agreed.

“Brooks was the young man you saw arrive first in the morning and was the last to leave at night,” she recalled. “Brooks played and worked on his short game all day long.”

Brooks attributes his success to his local junior golf experiences.

“I can’t say enough about the Junior Golf Foundation of America’s programs at Okeeheelee,” Brooks said. “It was on those golf courses and through those tournaments that I fell in love with the game. I can honestly say that I would not be where I’m at today if those opportunities were not available to me when I was younger.”

Brooks was also good enough to start playing high school golf as early as the sixth grade, as a member of the Wellington Christian School golf team.

Bob Koepka taught his sons that winning at anything doesn’t just happen. It requires focus and determination.

“I always made the boys figure out how to win at anything and never let them win, whether it was playing cards or sports,” he explained. “It was up to them to either physically or mentally rise up to the challenge.”

Brooks has certainly risen to the challenge — and he’s still rising.

Bob Koepka has known for a while that his oldest son has what it takes to win golf tournaments.

In the fall of 2006, during Brooks’ junior year in high school, that moment of clarity took place when Brooks was playing in the Florida high school state championships.

“I had his high school coach tell him he was four shots back with seven holes to play for the state championship,” Bob recalled. “[Brooks] proceeded to go five under to capture the title.”

There is a strong charitable side to Brooks. When he was recovering from a severe wrist injury this past spring, which kept him away from the PGA Tour, he made a public appearance at Okeeheelee during the club’s 11th annual Putting Classic — and he brought along his U.S. Open trophy, too.

“This is the first time that the actual U.S. Open trophy has ever been on display at our golf course,” beamed Mac Hood, the golf course manager at Okeeheelee.

With his PGA Championship win in August, Brooks has now won three out of the last seven majors that have been played, dating back to the 2017 U.S. Open.

Bob Koepka knows that his son has what it takes to add a green Masters jacket to his wardrobe, which could come as early as next April, when the world’s greatest golfers play the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. “Brooks is at his best when his back is against the wall, and he is mentally strong enough to take his game to the next level to reach the goal at hand,” Bob explained.

As this year’s PGA Tour season concluded, Brooks finished the year third in the Official World Golf Rankings, sixth on the PGA Tour’s money list and ninth in the season-long Fed Ex Cup playoffs. In late September, the PGA of America named Brooks its Player of the Year.

Another highlight for Brooks, now living in Jupiter, was qualifying for this year’s U.S. Ryder Cup team, which competed against Europe in September at the Le Golf National, located near Paris in France. Expect Brooks to be a regular member of many U.S. Ryder Cup teams over the next 10 to 15 years, possibly alongside his brother Chase. Only time will tell.

Follow Brooks Koepka’s career at www.brookskoepka.com.