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BROOKS KOEPKA LIKES HARD GOLF COURSES. They don't get much harder than Shinnecock Hills in the 118th U.S. Open. That suited Koepka but few others. Now he is one of only seven repeat champions in the long history of the national open.

Koepka fired a closing 68 to finish at 1-over 281 and edge Englishman Tommy Fleetwood (2 over), who shot a record-tying 63 in the final round. The 28-year-old Florida native opened with a 75, followed with a 66 and carded a 72 on Saturday when historic Shinnecock Hills turned into a beast and produced average scores above 75.

Bring it on, said Koepka.

"I enjoy being pushed to the limit. Sometimes you feel like you are about to break mentally, but that's what I enjoy. I enjoy hard courses. I enjoy playing about the toughest in golf you are ever going to play."

Nothing bothers Koepka, his caddie said. That's the perfect attitude for the toughest test in golf.

Curtis Strange, the last man to win the back-to-back U.S. Opens, marvels at the new...

WORLD NO. 1 DUSTIN JOHNSON, Scott Piercy, Ian Poulter and Russell Henley shot 1-under 69 on a windswept Shinecock Hills Golf Club to take the lead in the opening round of the U.S. Open.

Jason Dufner matched par with a 70.

The rest of the 156-player field wandered through 18 holes making too many bogeys and others. The average first-round score was 76.4.

Phil Mickelson had a 77. Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth shot 78. Jason Day had a 79. And Rory McIlory carded an 80.

This is already feeling like the olden days of the U.S. Open....

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FOLLOWING ARE USGA MEDIA NOTES on the 2018 U.S. Open field of 156 players, which includes 20 amateurs.

OLDEST & YOUNGEST – Kenny Perry (pictured above), at age 57 (born Aug. 10, 1960), is the oldest player in this year’s U.S. Open field. Perry won the 2017 U.S. Senior Open and became the sixth player to win the championship twice. Steve Stricker (born Feb. 23, 1967) is age 51. Noah Goodwin, who won the 2017 U.S. Junior Amateur, is the youngest at age 17 (born June 20, 2000).

FIELD FOR THE AGES – There are 10 players in the 2017 U.S. Open field who will be 20 years old or younger when the first round begins on Thursday, June 14. Philip Barbaree, the 2015 U.S. Junior Amateur champion, is one of five players under age 20.

There are 17 players in the field who are 40 or older. Ernie Els, 48, won two U.S....

THE 118TH U.S. OPEN BEGINS ON THURSDAY at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southamption, New York. This is the fifth time Shinnecock Hills has hosted the national championship. Brooks Koepka is the defending champion.

PAR AND YARDAGE
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club will be set up at 7,440 yards and will play to a par of 35-35—70. The yardage for each round of the championship will vary due to course setup and conditions.

Shinnecock Hills Golf Club Hole By Hole
HoleParYardage...

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RORY MCILROY DOESN'T SHY AWAY from sharing his opinion on many topics.

As GolfChannel.com reported, McIlroy was asked after the third round of last week's Memorial Tourmanent if organizations such as the USGA truly understood the abilities of tour professionals. After all, they only host the best players in the world once a year.

McIlroy said: "See, I think the USGA thinks that we're better than we actually are, if that makes sense. I think they overthink it. I don't want to single out Mike Davis here; I think it's a collective thought process....I don't think it should be as much of an exact science to set up a golf course as it is. I mean, get the fairways sort of firm, grow the rough, put the pins in some tough locations but fair, and go let...

I'VE HAD THIS IN MY EMAIL INBOX for nearly two weeks and am sorry I didn't post it earlier.

LPGA star Carol Mann died recently and veteran golf journalist Jeff Babineau wrote a terrific article about her in MORNING READ.

Babineau got to know Mann through the years and captures her well in his first-person piece, including her love and stewardship of the game.

Here's how it starts:

By USGA

ARIYA JUTANUGARN DEFEATED HYO JOO KIM on the fourth playoff hole in the first year of the USGA's new two-hole aggregate playoff format. Jutanugarn became the sixth player to win both the U.S. Women's Open and the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship.

This is the second time in Jutanugarn's prior five U.S. Open appearances that she made the cut. Her highest prior finish is T17 (2016).

Jutanugarn is the first U.S. Women's Open champion from Thailand, and the twelfth international champion since 2000.

After the ninth hole in Round 4, Jutanugarn’s 16-under-par tied Juli Inkster's (1999) record for most strokes under par at any point in a U.S. Women's Open.

Kim was the only player in the field without a bogey in the final round of the Championship, and her 67 was the lowest final round in the field.


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By FOX Sports

Amid FOX Sports' ongoing U.S. Women's Open Championship coverage, FOX Sports Films debuts the second film in its EPICS series, TIGER AND ROCCO. The hour-long film documents Tiger Woods' historic win over Rocco Mediate at the 2008 U.S. Open Championship at Torrey Pines – Woods' final major championship win to-date.

Featuring interviews with Mediate, Steve Williams, Hank Haney and USGA Executive Director Mike Davis, plus never-before-seen highlights and first-hand accounts of the championship, TIGER AND ROCCO offers viewers an unprecedented look at golf's ultimate test.

TIGER AND ROCCO premieres Sunday, June 3 at 1:00 PM ET on the FOX broadcast network, preceding FOX Sports' final round coverage of the 73rd U.S. Women's Open Championship at Shoal Creek from 2:00 to 7:00 PM ET on FOX.


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