Equipment
The clubs Brooks Koepka used to win the PGA Championship
(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Brooks Koepka won his second major of the season and third of his career by combining the kind of solid ball-striking with good in-close putting to win by two over Tiger Woods at Bellerive Country Club.
Koepka was second in driving distance at 324.2 yards with a TaylorMade M3 460 driver with a Mitsubishi Diamana White Board D + 70 shaft. Koepka, used the M4 model earlier in the year, but uses the adjustable weights in the M3, moving both to the the rear position to maximize forgiveness and launch.
Koepka also ranked second in strokes gained/tee-to-green, gaining more than 11 strokes on the field for the week, with not just his mashed driver swings but his consistent iron play. When Nike exited the equipment business in August 2016, it left Koepka seeking some new equipment. Though not under contract with the company, Koepka plays Mizuno's JPX 900 Tour irons. The background on the clubs is that Mizuno, knowing that Koepka’s Titleist contract was up (and pre-Nike deal), made the JPX 900 Tour with Koepka in mind, as Mizuno felt he fit the mold of the JPX player. Then, after Nike left the club business, Mizuno reached out to Koepka again to gauge his interest in playing the irons. The JPX 900 Tour irons went in the bag earlier this year after an offseason of testing.
The specs are standard length, half a degree upright. Koepka also only practices with odd-numbered clubs, so those wear out faster than the others, requiring new sets every so often. His grips are Golf Pride's Tour Velvet.
But the PGA would not have been won without his putter. Instead of seeking a new one, Koepka went back to an old friend, the Scotty Cameron by Titleist Newport 2 SLT T10 putter he had used to win his first PGA Tour title at the 2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open. Koepka made the move during the 2016 FedEx Cup playoffs and the putter, which boasts a T10 Terylium insert and has BK stamped on the front toe, helped Koepka sink six birdie putts on Sunday, albeit all of them from 10 feet and closer. Still, Koepka boasted a strokes gained putting mark of nearly five strokes for the week and when you win by two, that’s a big difference-maker.
Enough to make Koepka a three-time major champion.
What Brooks Koepka had in the bag at the U.S. Open:
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Driver: TaylorMade M3 460 (Mitsubishi Diamana White Board D + 70), 9.5 degrees
3-wood: TaylorMade M2 2017, 16.5 degrees
Irons (3): Nike Vapor Fly Pro; (4-PW): Mizuno JPX Tour 900
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM7 (52, 56); Titleist Vokey SM4 TVD (60 degrees)