[Photo: Icon Sportswire]
Brooks Koepka was just starting to find his groove. Or so it seemed.
The five-time major champion was in line to produce his best result since leaving LIV Golf and returning to the PGA Tour this year, but now a hand injury that made him withdraw in Canada makes his status for this week’s US Open unclear.
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Koepka, 36, had been playing better since a 12th-place tie at the Masters and this week at the RBC Canadian Open he was putting as well as he had all year, leading the field in strokes gained/putting after 54 holes.
He opened with a 64 and was tied for the first-round lead. A second-round 68 had him still near the top of the leaderboard but on Saturday, prior to the third round, something happened that he couldn’t quite explain. He shot a two-over 72 and was spotted grimacing several times. Then on Sunday, just before the final round at TPC Toronto, Koepka withdrew.
Brooks Koepka WD (hand injury) prior to the final round of the RBC Canadian Open
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) June 14, 2026
“Yeah, I don’t know what it is,” Koepka said late on Saturday. “I’m struggling to grip the club with my ring finger and pinkie finger, so can’t grip it. So the club is kind of just, my fingers would come loose, it was kind of numb. I don’t know what the deal was but hopefully we’ll figure it out.
“The whole warm-up, I felt fine, I was absolutely good. Then got to the range and went to grip the club and I just couldn’t even grip it. So it lasted – it was all day. Felt better the last few holes. I don’t know if that’s just the meds kicked in or what it is. But hopefully we’ll figure it out now.”
Well, he clearly didn’t figure it out by Sunday morning in Canada, where the tee-times were moved up because of weather. The US Open starts on Thursday at Shinnecock Hills, where Koepka won the second of his two US Open titles in 2018.
