Brooks Koepka's quest for PGA history heads to ‘big boy' Harding Park

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Last June, Brooks Koepka arrived at Pebble Beach looking to make history.

With a win, he would become the first person to win three straight U.S. Opens since Willie Anderson in 1903-05. Koepka unfazed by major pressure or the weight of history, made a run at his three-peat but ultimately fell short, finishing three strokes behind eventual champion Gary Woodland. Koepka became the first golfer in U.S. Open history to shoot four rounds in the 60s and not take home the trophy. 

Ever since he notched his first major championship at the 2017 U.S. Open, Koepka has become an unstoppable force. An unrelenting beast devoted to laying waste to major championship fields. He is unbothered by the pressure of the moment. Unfazed by what his competitors throw at him.

He's golf's Godzilla.

While his first run at a major championship three-peat came up short at Pebble Beach, Koepka will have another chance come May when he looks to become the first golfer to win three straight PGA Championships since Walter Hagen won four straight in the 1920s. Koepka once again will make his run at golfing history in California when TPC Harding Park hosts the 2020 PGA Championship. 

"It would be incredible," Koepka said Monday at the 2020 PGA Championship Media Day. "Obviously you look at Walter Hagen is a name everybody knows, every golf fan knows. To even have a chance to put my name with his would be incredible and it would be super special. Coming back, obviously two-time defending, it's a different feeling, and one you want to win this year for sure.

"It's something I'm looking forward to and can't wait to get the year started."

Godzilla will reemerge from the Pacific Ocean looking to wreak havoc on a brawny golf course that has one of the most picturesque finishes in golf with the Cypress Trees vividly outlining the closing stretch along Lake Merced.

Koepka hasn't set foot at Harding Park since the WGC-Match Play in 2015.

Now golf's elite destroyer of major championship fields, he's ready for the challenge the San Francisco municipal course will present.

"It's a big boy golf course," Koepka said. "You have to be able to hit it long. It's very difficult. It's a major championship golf course. You know that. You look at -- this finish will be interesting. I think it will be a great finish. You look at the back nine there, starting on about 13, 14, it gets really interesting. You're going to see a lot of -- it will be exciting, especially if it's close on Sunday. I think those holes let up for quite a few disasters and some good golf.

"You know the rough is going to be thick. You know what you're going to get. You have to be able to hit it far and you have to be able to hit it straight. There's been a precedent on making sure accuracy is big, and you know that when you come out here."

Koepka, who spent three months rehabbing from a knee injury, now is healthy. He tied for 17th at his return to golf at the Saudi International. He struggled at Riviera Country Club this past weekend, finishing in a tie for 43rd at the Genesis Invitational.

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But the four-time major winner has become known as the robot programmed to destroy the best fields in golf and not worry about the rest. He famously quipped before the 2019 British Open that he practices before majors, but doesn't ahead of other tour events.

His focus is singular in nature.

The Olympics? Not that important. FedEx Cup? The paycheck would be nice, but otherwise ... yawn.

Majors are what legacies are built from. Koepka has amassed four since 2017 and believes he can make it to double digits as he enters his golfing prime.

He'll be ready to descend upon San Francisco in May with the sole goal of romping over the field just as he did at Bethpage Black last May.

Conquering the golf's best on the biggest stage is all that matters. Filling his trophy case with relics of major glory is the only thing that can bring golf's great titan satisfaction.

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