Despite being separated by rival leagues, it seems that Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka still share a great friendship. The two have shared a great dynamic long before Koepka moved to LIV Golf. Fans got a glimpse of that when Koepka commented, “Congrats bro!” after Thomas revealed that he and his wife had a daughter back in 2024. The “bro” suggests how close their friendship is beyond the course. So, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the 32-year-old was also concerned about the Smash GC’s captain taking the heat from his coach, Pete.
After the conclusion of the first round in the 2025 U.S. Open, Koepka reviewed his performance from Thursday in the press conference. He said, “Yeah, I feel good. It’s nice to put a good round together. It’s been a while. I’ve been working hard, just got into some bad habits and bad swing positions. We worked pretty hard last week, Pete Cowen and Jeff Pierce were on me pretty good, and Pete got into me again on Monday, in the bunker for about 45 minutes. I just sat there, and he scolded me pretty well. Yeah, it’s just a matter of executing the feels versus perception for where I’ve been, I think. It’s been so far off, it’s on opposite sides, but now it’s starting to click. Unfortunately, we’re about halfway through the season, so that’s not ideal, but we’re learning.”
Seems like the dynamic between Koepka and Cowen is quite unique. And the LIV Golf pro doesn’t mind taking the heat from his coach while training to negate issues in his game or preparing for a major. This is not the first time that Cowen has been critical of Koepka. Back in 2023, he revealed how he helped Koepka get over his bad attitude on the course before his first major win. Intrigued by the response, the journalist further questioned, “I’ll put it this way: JT thought he had to come check on me in the bunker. We were in there for about 45 minutes, and he was on the other side of the green. I saw him Monday night. We were at a Rolex function. He was like, I was worried; your head was down.”
For Thomas, who was practicing alongside Koepka on Monday, to check on the 35-year-old after he took the bashing suggests that he was truly concerned about Koepka‘s well-being. Despite getting chastised by his coach, Brooks was still quite calm about the situation.
He added, “Yeah, Pete, I’ll keep that between us. I wasn’t happy with it, but it was something I think you need to hear or I needed to hear at the right time. It’s not the first time he’s done it. He’s not afraid to. Yeah. I don’t like having “yes” people around me. I just want somebody to tell me the truth, tell me what’s going on, what they see. If I start swaying from being Brooks Koepka, then I want someone to call me out on it, and he did a helluva job on it.”
via Imago
After capturing 5 major titles and being the first player on LIV Golf to get 5 individual wins, it’s great to see that Brooks Koepka still understands the importance of having proper coaching. Having “Yes men” around him, as he described them, would only damage his game. Instead, it’s better to get a few tough lessons when you step away from your true potential.
He may have beaten the world in the last 9 years, but things haven’t changed much since his first big win at Eril Hills in 2017 and today. Koepka revealed how the events from the Monday before the 2025 U.S. Open reminded him of his first major triumph.
Brooks Koepka’s journey from first major win to 12th U.S. Open appearance
While it may be worrying for Justin Thomas, for Brooks Koepka, it might be motivating. As he confessed, the last time Pete Cowen really dug into the LIV Golf pro was before his U.S. Open win in 2017. As Cowen had mentioned it himself, he didn’t like the attitude Koepka had on the course. After finishing at T37 in the 2017 FedEx St. Jude Classic, the coach lashed out at the 2-time U.S. Open winner for his “pathetic” and “embarrassing” approach.
In an exclusive interview with EssentiallySports, Cowen told Koepka, “You need to challenge. Have the attitude of a champion or continue being the petulant 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥.” He even challenged the pro golfer to “go out and win the tournament.” And that he did. Koepka won the 2017 U.S. Open, the first major of his career, at Erin Hills. After lifting the title, he acknowledged his dedicated coach’s efforts. Koepka said, “Thanks for the bollocking; I couldn’t have done it without that,” in an interview following his triumph.
Considering the result it yielded back in 2017, will Pete Cowen’s magic help Koepka triumph at Oakmont Country Club as well? We will only know that this Sunday, on June 15, 2025. For now, Brooks Koepka sits at T3, 2 strokes away from the top of the leaderboard after 18 holes. This sure looks promising!
