Tiger, Jack and Brooks? How Koepka's numbers compare to the legends
When you think of the greatest golfers in the history of the sport, two names come to mind: Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.
Apologies to Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Walter Hagen and Phil Mickelson. But no other players need apply.
However, after the weekend's PGA Championship at Oak Hill, does Brooks Koepka belong in that conversation?
It sounds strange to even say out loud, but after winning his fifth major in just 36 career starts, there's a case to be made for the 33-year-old.
When you look at how he stacks up to the first 36 starts by Woods and Nicklaus, it's remarkably similar.
Nicklaus, of course, broke the mold. In his first 36 majors, "The Golden Bear" won seven trophies, finished second a remarkable eight times and had four third-place finishes along with a fourth and a fifth. That's 21 top-fives, a remarkable record.
Tiger had eight wins of his own in his first 36 majors, which is the most ever in a player's first 36. He totaled 13 top-fives and 15 top-10s in that stretch, including a run in which he was the first player in 40 years to win four majors in a row.
But Koepka's numbers through his first 36 major appearances are nothing to scoff at. He has five wins, four second-places (including the Masters last month), four fourths and a fifth, giving him 14 top-fives. His 18 top-10s means he's hit the leaderboard half the time he has teed it up. Given the depth of competition on the PGA Tour these days, that feels almost inconceivable.
The thing about Koepka is that it's all about the majors to him. And with the win this weekend, he now has more of them than any of the young guards on the Tour. Rory McIlroy has four, Jordan Spieth has three and nobody else has more than two.
The most amazing stat coming out of this weekend is that, by winning his fifth major, Koepka has more Grand Slam event wins than he has in other PGA tournaments. He's only won four tournaments outside the majors, and that number isn't going to get better anytime soon now that he plays regularly on the LIV Golf tour and not the PGA.
He has already joined Woods and Nicklaus as the only three players to win three PGA Championships in the modern era. And he's already in the top 20 in all-time major victories.
But when it comes to Jack and Tiger, their true greatness shone through over their next 20-50 majors, as Tiger won six times and had 13 top-fives in his next 20 starts; Nicklaus won an incredible 10 more times over his next 50 events.
Can Brooks keep up the pace set by the sport's two greatest players ever? Time will tell. But just having his name in the same discussion means there's a chance. He already has two U.S. Open wins, and he'll look for a third June 15-18 at Los Angeles Country Club. With nobody in the world playing better at the moment, who would put it past him to win again?
Either way, the race is on. And if the PGA is smart, it will treat this chase with the importance it deserves.
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