PARIS -- At some point during the past several years, as Brooks Koepka rose to become one of the best golfers in the world, he develope...
PARIS -- At some point during the past several years, as Brooks Koepka rose to become one of the best golfers in the world, he developed a pre-shot ritual with his driver that feels almost like a nod to his baseball roots. (His great-uncle Dick Groat was the National League MVP with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1960; Koepka has said if he could do it all over again, he'd focus on baseball instead of golf.) Koepka tees up his ball, intentionally a little too high, and while it's balanced on the tee, he'll tap it down -- just a hair -- using only the bottom of his driver, like he's Barry Bonds or Kirk Gibson tapping home plate with a bat before they dig in and let loose a vicious lash at the ball.
There is a bit of swagger to it, a pinch of arrogance. If you've ever clumsily bumped your ball off the tee at address, then had to embarrassingly re-tee, you're well aware that it also requires some pretty exceptional hand-eye coordination.
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