Koepka lands US Open title as Fleetwood’s charge fades

American Brooks Koepka fired six birdies in the final round as he powered his way to his first major title in the US Open on Sunday.

Koepka dropped just the one shot during an impressive round that saw him finish on 16 under par, four shots ahead of overnight leader Brian Harman and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama.

Tommy Fleetwood’s brave bid faded as he finished alone in fourth on 11 under following a final round of 72, with Rickie Fowler, Bill Haas and Xander Schauffele a shot further back in fifth.

Koepka’s 16 under matched the tournament scoring record set by Rory McIlroy at Congressional in 2011, and the 27-year-old admitted afterwards that the course suited his big-hitting style down to the ground.

“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “I don’t know what to say right now but it’s pretty cool. To do it where I played the US amateurs is special. It’s a real team effort. Everybody putt in a lot of work. It’s a special moment.

“It’s awesome to get the calls and texts I got last night. It was special for people to give me advice and saying to stick to what I’ve done. That’s what I did and it was great.

“It was bombs away, you could hit it far and the fairways were generous enough. That was a big plus for me. I’m a big ball striker. On some of these par fives I don’t even need to hit driver to get there and I putted brilliantly this week too.”