Surging Brooks Koepka enters US Open with his sights on ‘double digits’ in majors

LOS ANGELES — Go ahead and make an argument that Brooks Koepka isn’t the best, most dangerous golfer on the planet at the moment.

Never mind “recency bias’’ arguments, as if to dismiss Koepka’s PGA Championship triumph last month at Oak Hill as some sort of one-off. He nearly won the Masters in April, finishing runner-up to Jon Rahm, and he’s won a LIV Golf event this season, too.

The 33-year-old Koepka is the best big-game hunter since Tiger Woods. No one has gunned at majors as consistently as Koepka since Woods was winning them regularly.

Lofty praise?

Sure.

But check out his record. Koepka has won five major championships since 2017. A win at the U.S. Open this week at Los Angeles Country Club, and there will be no more questions, no arguments, about who’s the best player in the world. He would be capturing his sixth major and third U.S. Open.

“Double digits,’’ Koepka said Tuesday, referring to his goal for career majors. “That’s what I’m trying to get to. I don’t think it’s out of the question for me.’’

Distractions?

Koepka has his share of them and he embraces them.

Not only is he the winner of the most recent major championship, but he’s become one of the faces of LIV Golf, the controversial Saudi-backed tour that the PGA Tour fought as the enemy until last week’s shocking announcement of an alliance between the two rivals.

No matter. The more distractions, the better Koepka performs. Consider that one of his major championships was the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive in St. Louis, where Koepka staved off none other than Woods, for whom the huge galleries were cheering wildly and treating Koepka like Darth Vader.

“The more chaotic things get, the easier it gets for me,’’ Koepka said. “Everything starts to slow down, and I am able to focus on whatever I need to focus on while everybody else is dealing with distractions, worried about other things. I enjoy the chaos.’’

When did he first realize he thrives amid the chaos?

“The first one that popped in my head was maybe Shinnecock,’’ Koepka said, referring to the 2018 U.S. Open, which he won. “Everybody was bitching, complaining [about the speed of the greens]. They were all so focused on the golf course they kind of forgot about what was going on, that they were there to play a major championship instead of, ‘OK, the greens are pretty fast.’ But, if you leave yourself with an uphill putt, it’s not too bad.’’

Koepka plays like a natural-born killer in major championships. So, look out this week in L.A.

“Growing up, I think one thing that was always kind of harped on me was you knew how many majors Jack [Nicklaus] has, you knew how many Tiger has, you knew how many Arnold Palmer has, you knew how many Gary Player, [Tom] Watson, all these legends,’’ Koepka said. “But I never knew how many PGA Tour events or wins they had total. That’s what you’re judged on. Major championships. You look at basketball, you’re judged on how many championships you’ve won, not how many games you’ve won. Same thing in every sport.’’

Koepka has played in 36 career major championships, winning five, finishing runner-up four times, in the top five 14 times and in the top 10 18 times.

The translation to those numbers is this: Don’t bet against him in the majors.

“[I’m] excited for the week,’’ Koepka said. “[I’m] playing really well. I’ve always liked U.S. Opens, so it will be a tough test this week. I just love when somewhere closer to even par wins. If it’s going to be a birdie-fest, where 20-, 21-under wins, that’s really not the style. If you look at maybe the majority of my wins, they’re all pretty much 10-under and less, which is kind of suited to major championship golf.

“I just feel like I can outlast everybody when it comes to having to par things to death or just kind of wearing guys out on the golf course and just mentally beating you and knowing when it’s my time to kind of take that opportunity and go with it.’’

Asked how “gratifying’’ it is to say he’s on five majors going on six, Koepka said, “It’s better than four, looking for five.’’

“I think the way I’ve prepared, the way I’ve kind of suited my game for these things is going to help me,’’ he went on. “And, I’m only 33, so I’ve definitely got quite a bit of time. I’ve just got to stay healthy and keep doing what I’m doing.’’

Changing anything he’s been doing would be career malpractice.