Brooks Koepka plays his third shot on the 11th hole during the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 17, 2018 in Southampton, New York. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

By Kent Gray
Brooks Koepka has given a fascinating insight into his relationship with short-game guru Peter Cowen, revealing how the English coach has goaded him to greatness.

Speaking on the eve of the 14th Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the world No.2 divulged how Cowen’s teachings go beyond the intricacies of swing mechanics.

“I think the first lesson I ever got from Pete kind of sums it up. I must have had five, six shots out of the bunker and he told me how bad it was. And I just turned to him, “Well, then you do it.”

RELATED: Koepka downplays ‘unappreciated’ narrative ahead of Abu Dhabi return

Cowen’s short game prowess is the stuff of legend as Koepka was about to find out from the coach to the stars who spends a large portion of his year in the UAE overseeing academies at Emirates Golf Club and Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club.

Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
Cowen works with many of the game’s biggest names

“So he gets in the bunker, first shot, holes it. I’m like, okay, is this old guy really going to do this? Pops another ball down, holes the second one and just walked off, and said, if you can’t do it, I’m done. I was like, okay. All right,” said the three-time major champion who works with Claude Harmon III on his full swing.

“That’s just Pete. Pete’s personality, he’s very blunt, very straightforward. I’ve really enjoyed it and he knows what is to say at the right time. I think that’s what’s so good about a great coach. They knew when to test me.”

RELATED: Abu Dhabi tee-times – Koepka paired with Falcon three-peat hunter Fleetwood in first round

Cowen is clearly doing something right with Koepka 12th in scrambling on the PGA Tour last season. His sand save percentage – 53.76 – was also good for 44th  in the stats.

But its perhaps the mental stimulation that has brought the best out in the 28-year-old. Koepka rewound to the 2017 U.S. Open and the scene of his major championship breakthrough to reveal how Cowen’s goading had inspired him to the pinnacle of the global game.

“I think it was Erin Hills when he told me I was never going to win a major. He knew exactly what to say at that point.

“You tell me I can’t do something. I can’t wait to prove it to you. I think he even does it now. He’ll tell me certain things, I can’t do this, can’t do that. I enjoy a challenge.”