Brooks Koepka holes out from bunker for share of Open Championship lead (video)

Brooks Koepka has not been seen on tour since winning the U.S. Open, but he has no signs of competitive rust at The Open Championship.

Last month, Brooks Koepka became the latest first-time major winner on the PGA Tour with a U.S. Open victory at Erin Hills in Wisconsin. He has taken some time off from competition since, but he  is back on the course this week at Royal Birkdale for the Open Championship.

The randomness of links golf, with wind typically in play on courses largely devoid of trees, makes The Open Championship a unique challenge for the world’s top golfers. But scoring is fairly good so far in Thursday’s first round, with -5 the current lead,11 players at -3 or better as of this writing and 35 players carrying scores under par.

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Koepka avoided mistakes early in his round, with one birdie on a bogey-free first nine holes for an outward score of 33. But he got hot on the back-nine, with three straight birdies on 11, 12 and 13 to surge to -4.

https://twitter.com/TheOpen/status/888040698083147776

After dropping a shot on the par-4 16th hole, Koepka found himself in a bunker after his second to the par-5 17th. Bunkers on an Open Championship golf course are meant to practically assure a one-shot penalty, but don’t tell that to the reigning U.S. Open champion.

Koepka’s round of 65 left him in a current four-way tie for the lead, with Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar and Charlie Hoffman. David Lipsky is currently one shot back at -4. Ian Poulter is back in contention at an Open Championship, among those that posted three-under 67s on Thursday.

Keoepka clearly brought his A-game with him overseas, albeit in pretty favorable conditions that are expected to change dramatically. But it’s easy to see him sticking around the top of the leader board through the weekend.