Golf - The Masters - Augusta National Golf Club - Augusta, Georgia, U.S. - April 9, 2023 Brooks Koepka of the U.S. reacts after holing his bogey putt on the 9th green during the final round REUTERS/Mike Segar
AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) - Brooks Koepka's bid to leave the Masters field green with envy came apart in the final round on Sunday, but the oft-injured American still walked away with his head held high after re-establishing his status as a major contender.
Koepka, one of 18 LIV Golf players who teed it up this week, began the round two shots ahead but his hopes of donning the Green Jacket were torn to shreds, as his lead vanished after four holes and he finished four behind winner Jon Rahm.
Playing with Rahm in a mano-a-mano final pairing of major champions and former world number ones, Koepka's poor iron play to start the round opened the door for the Spaniard, who grabbed the lead outright at the sixth hole and never looked back.
"I tried. Gave it my all, so I can go to sleep at night," said four-time major winner Koepka.
Koepka was rock-solid through the first two rounds, started to wobble in the rain-interrupted third round that finished early on Sunday, then staggered across the final 18 holes, which he covered in three-over-par 75.
It marked the first time in four attempts that Koepka, who finished with a share of second place, failed to convert a 54-hole lead or co-lead in a major championship.
Koepka, who could not even properly stoop to read his putts two years ago at the Masters when he competed three weeks after surgery to repair a shattered kneecap, says his latest outing is proof of his progress even if it might take time to sink in.
"Give it a week, and I'll start to see some positives out of it and carry this over to the PGA (Championship), the U.S. Open and The (British) Open," Koepka said. "But right now, it's kind of tough to see, if I'm honest, probably for the next few hours and the next few days."
For a good portion of the tournament, Koepka resembled the dominant figure he was while collecting four majors titles from 2017-2019. Although he came up short in this one, he said he showed the golfing world he once again has what it takes.
"Yeah, I think I proved it this week, no?" Koepka said. "I've known this for a while, but I guess it was just a matter of going out and doing it. I led for three rounds, and just didn't do it on the last day, that's it. Plain and simple."
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Augusta, Georgia. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
