|
 Brooks Koepka's maiden victory at the Turkish Airlines Open on
Sunday has put him in pole position for the accolade and the
24-year-old said it would be great to follow in Uihlein's footsteps.
"It would be nice to have him hand that trophy to me," Koepka told
reporters after a seven-under 65 secured a one-shot victory over
Britain's Ian Poulter at the penultimate European event of the
season.
Koepka said it was remarkable how much he and his compatriot had
achieved in their short time on tour.
"It's unbelievable," he added. "He came over maybe five or six
months before me. My goal was always to come overseas and take
advantage of it."
It took a few near-misses for Koepka to realize his potential but
when his chance came in Turkey he grabbed it with both hands.
 The American said an incident in the final round proved to him that
his previous failures had not been in vain.
"I caught a bad break on 15," he explained. "There was a sprinkler
head or something and I was on a downslope for my second shot.
"It was almost impossible to get to the pin, I hit a tree and came
up short but I didn't react."
Koepka ignored his misfortune, chipped to 20 feet and sank a
nerve-tingling putt to retain his one-stroke lead.
[to top of second column] |
"Maybe in the past I would have gotten a little upset and
wouldn't have handled it properly," he said. "This time I just moved
on.
"I don't want to say I was a bit giddy or anxious in the past but I
was definitely more calm today than I've ever been."
Koepka has been recognized as one of the hottest young properties in
golf for some time and the cheque for 930,000 euros ($1.17 million)
he pocketed on Sunday went a long way to erasing the memories of his
near misses.
"I wouldn't say it was much of a problem before, it was maybe a case
of pressing too hard," he said. "I wanted that first win so bad but
this time I just let it come."
(Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
