Kevin C. Cox

By Ryan Herrington
There was no reason for Brooks Koepka to play it safe on Sunday at the RBC Heritage. He started the final round three shots off the lead and after seeing some early scores posted, knew that Harbour Town was vulnerable once more to red numbers. He was paired with good pal Dustin Johnson, so a relaxed atmosphere was guaranteed. And, you might not be aware but, Koepka, No. 4 on the World Ranking, sits a surprising 204th on the FedEx Cup points list with only nine more tournaments to play (as long as the re-vamped schedule doesn’t see any other tournament cancellations). A good finish, then, in any of his next few starts is critical if he is going to move into the top 125 and compete in the Playoffs.

The go-for-broke mentality only intensified after making bogeys on the third and fourth holes on Sunday. Going backwards was not something Koepka had in mind. But he started to turn things around with a two-putt eagle on the par-5 fifth hole.

And then, on the drivable par-4 ninth hole, Koepka did this …

It’s not often that you roll in a 3½-footer for eagle and you’re kind of disappointed. Then again, it’s not often you make a hole-in-one on a par 4 on the PGA Tour. (It’s happened just once, to Andrew Magee at the 2001 Phoenix Open). Not long after finishing the hole, play was suspended at Hilton Head Island because of lightning in the area. Koepka came off the course and apparently got to take a peek at his own handiwork as you can tell by the fact he retweeted the shot to his own followers while waiting to get back on the course.

Koepka eventually finished solo 7th at Harbour Town on -18, three shots adrift of new champion Webb Simpson who fired a closing 64 to claim his 7th PGA Tour title.