“This year has not been great. This year has been very disappointing.” Even after winning twice on the LIV Golf in 2024, Brooks Koepka stated that his season was not up to par. Why though? The reason behind this was his run at the four majors. Although he did not miss the cut at any, Koepka was not in the top ten. He finished T45 at the Masters, T26 at the PGA Championship and US Open, and T43 at The Open in Royal Troon. By his standards, this was not the performance he wanted to give. But it has been done and the 34-year-old now looks to play in the home of golf once again.

via Imago

Courtesy of an invitation, Koepka will be playing in the DP World Tour event, Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. The event will be played on three courses on the first three days, the Old Course, the Championship Course, Carnoustie, and Kingsbarns Golf Links, with the final day being held on the Old Course again.

With poor performance tainting his 2024 cards, it would be harder for Koepka to become a part of the Ryder Cup in 2025 which will be held in Bethpage. That means that the 5-time major winner has to utilize every chance from now onwards and win an event or at least finish in the top position. Or else Keegan Bradley may miss him out on the six captains’ pick.

via Reuters

And to do that, Koepka will have the perfect example of Tiger Woods, who was once a dominant talent at the Old Course in St. Andrews. The 48-year-old won two of his three Claret Jug on the Old Course and here is why the two wins were truly historical and inspiring even though he recovering from microdiscectomy surgery.

Tiger Woods’ two St. Andrews’ victories

Unlike Tiger Woods, who has three open victories, Brooks Koepka has none. The 48-year-old first won the Open Championship in 2000 right after he won the US Open with 15 stroke margin. After shooting 66-67-67-69 in the four rounds, Woods then made the record-breaking low score for a champion at 19 under and lifted his first claret jug. It was a historical moment as the 15-time major championship completed his ‘Tiger Slam’ in single a season.

Five years later, Woods visited his favorite golf course again and this time, he made another record. The 48-year-old won the 2005 British Open, which he was predicted to win since day one, as he was a leader after every round and it became apparent that he was unstoppable. Talking about the difficulty of winning in 2005, Woods said, “I battled this week. I battled conditions, battled the field, battled the golf course, and somehow came out on top.”

The Old Course is also one of the favorite courses of Koepka and after a season break, the 34-year-old might be better off to challenge links golf. Although his fate at the Old Course has been unfavored, this time, Koepka is willing to have a better week at the Old Course and hopefully, win over there, securing himself a title outside of LIV Golf and coming under the radar of Keegan Bradley.