Two-time winner Brooks Koepka withdraws from U.S. Open

Brooks Koepka won’t be going for his third U.S. Open win in four years.

Koepka said Wednesday that he wouldn’t play in next weekend’s Open at Winged Foot as he deals with lingering hip and knee injuries. Koepka hasn’t played in a tournament since he missed the cut at the Wyndham Championship in August.

Koepka won the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills and the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. He was second to Gary Woodland in 2019 at Pebble Beach. Woodland beat Koepka by three strokes.

Four of Koepka’s seven PGA Tour wins have come at majors. In addition to his two U.S. Open titles, Koepka went back-to-back at the PGA Championship in 2018 and 2019.

Koepka struggled in the fourth round of the 2020 PGA Championship in early August. After carding three-straight rounds under par to start the tournament, Koepka shot a 74 in the final round and ended up 10 strokes back of winner Collin Morikawa.

He played the next week at the Wyndham but didn’t make it to the weekend. He then withdrew from the Northern Trust Open.

Koepka has been dealing with left patellar tendon issues for over a year. He partially tore the tendon in the spring of 2019 before re-tearing it after slipping on wet concrete. He said in July that “nothing is improved” about his knee.

"This is physical," Koepka said of his injuries while he was at the Wyndham. "I know how to do it, I can do it. I just physically can't do it."

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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.

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