Two-time winner Koepka withdraws from US Open

NEW YORK: Two-time US Open winner Brooks Koepka said on Wednesday he has withdrawn from next week’s US Open golf showdown at Winged Foot, still struggling with injuries. Koepka won his first major at the 2017 US Open at Erin Hills and defended the crown in 2018 at Shinnecock, the first player to win back-to-back US Open titles since Curtis Strange in 1988 and 1989. “Unfortunately, I have decided to withdraw from next week’s US Open,” Koepka tweeted on Wednesday. “I’m looking forward to getting healthy and competing at 100 per cent again very soon.” Koepka, who was a runner-up last year to Gary Woodland in his bid for a US Open three-peat, also won the 2018 and 2019 PGA Championships but shared 29th in last month’s PGA at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. Koepka injured his left knee in early 2019 and reinjured the knee last year in South Korea. He sat out almost five months and missed the cut or withdrew from three of five starts before the March COVID-19 season shutdown. He was a runner-up last month at the WGC St. Jude Invitational but, the following week, Koepka needed hip treatment on the course during the second round of the PGA, where he faded with a final-round 74. He missed the cut the next week at Greensboro and withdrew from the playoff opener to end his season. — AFP