Brooks Koepka reveals brutal 'scolding' from coach Pete Cowen inspired US Open resurgence
The five-time major winner rebounded from back-to-back missed cuts at the Masters and the PGA Championship by firing his way to a first-round 68 at Oakmont to sit just two shots off JJ Spaun's lead.
Koepka has now credited his turnaround to 74-year-old Yorkshireman Pete Cowen, his coach, who tore strips off him over his attitude at the start of the week.
The American said: 'It's nice to put a good round together. It's been a while. I've been working hard, just got into some bad habits and bad swing positions. Pete got into me on Monday, in the bunker for about 45 minutes. I just sat there, and he scolded me pretty well.
'I'll put it this way: JT (Justin Thomas) thought he had to come check on me in the bunker. We were in there for about 45 minutes, and he (Thomas) was on the other side of the green.
'I saw him Monday night. We were at a Rolex function. He was like, 'I was worried; your head was down'. I wasn't happy with it, but it was something I think you need to hear or I needed to hear at the right time. It's not the first time he's done it. He's not afraid to.
'I don't like having "yes" people around me. I just want somebody to tell me the truth, tell me what's going on, what they see.
'If I start swaying from being Brooks Koepka, then I want someone to call me out on it, and he did a helluva job on it.'
Koepka added: 'I would say from the first weekend in April until about last week, you didn't want to be around me. It drove me nuts. It ate at me.
'I haven't been happy. It's been very irritating. I had to apologise to everybody. I wouldn't have wanted to be around me.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
26 minutes ago
- Reuters
Favorites emerge to land disgruntled Commanders WR Terry McLaurin
August 1 - A pair of AFC teams quickly emerged as the strong favorites to vie for wide receiver Terry McLaurin if the Washington Commanders grant his trade request that was reported by multiple outlets Thursday. The Commanders are the odds-on favorite to retain McLaurin at -250 at DraftKings. But the book is also offering odds on the 31 other NFL franchises, led by the New England Patriots at +450 and the Las Vegas Raiders at +500. The next-shortest odds belong to the Los Angeles Chargers and Tennessee Titans at +1100 each. The Patriots signed veteran Stefon Diggs to a three-year, $69 million contract this offseason, but the 31-year-old is coming off an ACL injury that ended his 2024 season. Beyond him is a slew of veterans including DeMario Douglas, Mack Hollins, Kendrick Bourne and Kayshon Boutte, but McLaurin would provide a significant upgrade to pair with Diggs. The Raiders could likewise benefit from a proven playmaker to aid veteran quarterback Geno Smith. Their depth chart is currently topped by Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker and Dont'e Thornton Jr., with second-year tight end Brock Bowers the clear No. 1 threat in the passing game. The big question remains whether the Commanders would entertain parting with McLaurin as they prepare for a 2025 season in which they are expected to be a significant threat in the NFC. Washington added veteran wide receiver Deebo Samuel over the offseason, but McLaurin remains the No. 1 wideout among a group that also includes Noah Brown and Michael Gallup. Frustrated by the lack of progress in negotiations toward a contract extension, McLaurin sat out the first four days of training camp before reporting on Sunday. After reporting, he can no longer be fined $50,000 per day. McLaurin, who turns 30 in September, became a hold-in and was placed on the team's physically unable to perform list with an apparent ankle injury suffered last season. He did not attend organized team activities and mandatory minicamp. He did, however, participate in spring workouts. "You'd like to get these things done quicker, but it doesn't always happen that way," general manager Adam Peters said. "Whatever happens along the way, just understand he's a great player and we want to keep him here." With a base salary of $15.5 million and cap hit of $25.5 million in the final season of a three-year, $68.3 million contract, the speedster is coming off a career year with 1,096 receiving yards, 13 touchdowns and 82 receptions on 117 targets. He added three scores and 227 yards on 14 receptions in three playoff games. McLaurin and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels helped lead Washington (12-5) to its best season since it won the Super Bowl in 1991. The Commanders knocked off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC wild-card round and Detroit Lions in the divisional round before falling to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game. Over six seasons with Washington, the two-time Pro Bowl selection (2022, 2024) has 6,379 receiving yards, 38 touchdowns and 460 catches in 97 games. A team captain, McLaurin has hit the 1,000-yard mark for a franchise-record five straight seasons despite instability at the quarterback position before Daniels' NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign. --Field Level Media
Reuters
26 minutes ago
- Reuters
Cal Raleigh hits No. 42 as Mariners blank Rangers
August 1 - Cal Raleigh hit his major-league-leading 42nd home run of the season and George Kirby pitched six strong innings as the Seattle Mariners defeated the visiting Texas Rangers 6-0 Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series. Rookie Cole Young hit a solo shot and a run-scoring triple for the Mariners, who broke a second-place tie with Texas for second place in the American League West. Seattle sits 4 1/2 games behind the first-place Houston Astros. Kirby (6-5) continued his mastery of the Rangers by allowing just three hits -- a single by former teammate Rowdy Tellez in the third and a pair of two-out hits in the sixth, a single by Corey Seager and a double by Marcus Semien into the gap in left-center field. Kirby, who walked two and struck out six, got out of the latter jam by inducing a flyout to center from Adolis Garcia. In 10 career starts against Texas, Kirby is 8-0 with a 1.04 ERA. The Mariners broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning after Eugenio Suarez, who received a standing ovation in his return to Seattle after being acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks, grounded a one-out double down the third base line. Suarez took third on a flyout to deep center by Jorge Polanco and scored on a wild pitch from Kumar Rocker (4-5). Young led off the fifth with a blast into the second deck in right field -- his third homer of the season and his first at home -- and an out later Raleigh hit a high drive that just cleared the fence in right-center to make it 3-0. The Mariners added three runs in the sixth off reliever Jacob Latz. Polanco drew a leadoff walk, stole second and scored on J.P. Crawford's one-out single to right. Young lined an RBI triple to right and scored on a two-out passed ball by Kyle Higashioka. Rocker, who was 3-0 over his previous seven starts, gave up three runs on six hits over 4 2/3 innings. He walked two and fanned three. Mariners reliever Trent Thornton had to be taken off the field on a cart after sustaining an apparent left ankle injury while trying to cover first base on a grounder to the right side of the infield with two outs in the ninth inning. --Field Level Media
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
A winner either way: José Caballero traded from Rays to Yankees while teams were playing each other
José Caballero turned an inning-ending double play for the Tampa Bay Rays in the fifth inning, then batted in the sixth. By the bottom of the seventh, he was on the other team. In a strange development even for trade-deadline day around Major League Baseball, the Rays shipped Caballero to the New York Yankees — while the teams were still playing each other Thursday afternoon. Caballero was removed from Tampa Bay's lineup during the seventh-inning stretch, and the deal was announced after the Yankees nailed down a 7-4 victory in a game interrupted by rain for nearly three hours in the fifth. 'I just saw Caballero in the clubhouse, so that was a little odd,' New York manager Aaron Boone said afterward. 'I saw him actually hugging people in the eighth.' After learning he'd been traded, Caballero exchanged hugs in the Tampa Bay dugout at Yankee Stadium with his Rays teammates and manager Kevin Cash. Both clubs were active right up until the 6 p.m. deadline, and Tampa Bay sent the speedy Caballero to the AL East-rival Yankees for Triple-A outfielder Everson Pereira and a player to be named or cash. Pereira played 27 major league games for New York in 2023. The 28-year-old Caballero has 34 stolen bases this season, tied for most in the majors. He's batting .226 with two homers and 27 RBIs in 86 games and has started at shortstop, second base, third base and all three outfield positions. Caballero didn't start Thursday for the Rays but entered in the bottom of the fifth when All-Star first baseman Jonathan Aranda got injured. Caballero came in to play second base, and Brandon Lowe shifted from second base to first. Caballero stayed in the game following a rain delay that lasted 2 hours, 45 minutes. But when Tampa Bay took the field for the bottom of the seventh, he came out. Lowe moved back to second base and Matt Thaiss entered at first. 'It's definitely weird, but you've seen it on TV multiple times of people saying goodbye in the middle of the game in these situations,' Lowe said. 'It was a little weird to see it happen, but you just kind of put all the pieces together and figure it out for ourselves.' After the game, Caballero conducted his postgame interview as a member of the Yankees in their clubhouse — after clearing out his Rays locker on the other side of the stadium. 'I was winning today regardless,' Caballero said. 'We won the game, I guess. That's what I feel right now.' Tampa Bay made two other trades Thursday, acquiring starting pitcher Adrian Houser from the Chicago White Sox and reliever Griffin Jax from Minnesota. The team obtained catcher Nick Fortes from Miami early Tuesday, after sending veteran catcher Danny Jansen to Milwaukee the previous night. Zack Littell pitched five scoreless innings Wednesday night for the Rays at Yankee Stadium, then immediately was traded to the Cincinnati Reds. 'It's been a unique week,' Cash said. Caballero was acquired by Tampa Bay from Seattle in January 2024. As a rookie with the Mariners in June 2023, he annoyed Yankees ace Gerrit Cole so much the right-hander — sidelined this season with an injury — threw a 97 mph fastball to him that landed high up on the backstop. Cole's pitch was in response to Caballero stepping out repeatedly during his first two plate appearances until the pitch clock was down to the 8-second requirement to be in the batter's box and alert. 'I talked to him for a second,' Boone said. "I said, `We've had some battles but I like your game.' So I think he brings a lot to the table and I think he's going to be a very useful player for us, just a lot of different things he can do on a diamond and provide a lot of position flexibility." ___
