Brooks Koepka Returns To Shinnecock Hills With A Lingering Hand Injury But Eyes Another US Open Title
He withdrew from Canada with numb fingers and an unclear diagnosis. Days later he is at Shinnecock Hills, the site of his 2018 US Open win, insisting nothing will stop him from teeing off Thursday.
Brooks Koepka arrived at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Tuesday still dealing with the mystery hand injury that forced him out of the RBC Canadian Open four days earlier, and he made his intentions clear immediately. "I'm gonna go this week," he told Golf Channel's Todd Lynch when asked whether withdrawing from the US Open was a consideration. The five-time major champion is back at the course where he won the second of his two US Open titles in 2018, hand issue and all.
The injury first surfaced last Friday night. Koepka described feeling weakness in the pinky and ring fingers of his left hand, a sensation that flared up badly enough during his Saturday warm-up at TPC Toronto that gripping a club became close to impossible. "The whole warm-up, I felt fine, I was absolutely good. Then got to the range and went to grip the club and I just couldn't even grip it," he said. He shot a 2-over 72 that day and withdrew before the final round.
What His Medical Team Actually Found
Koepka underwent scans on his neck in both Canada and New York, checking the C5, C6 and C7 vertebrae after a previous herniation in 2021. Those scans came back clear. His medical team believes the more likely explanation is a flare-up of the ulnar nerve, which can cause sensory and movement issues including weakness, numbness, pain or tingling in the hand and arm.
Speaking at Shinnecock on Tuesday, Koepka described the sensation directly. "It just feels like you hit your funny bone all the time. The movement's fine. I can do everything." He said the condition has been improving day by day, enough that he would not have gone out to play practice rounds otherwise.
The Site of Unfinished Business
Koepka has not played a competitive round at Shinnecock since his 2018 victory there. He had been building real momentum into this major, leading the field in strokes gained putting through 54 holes in Canada before the injury derailed his week. He is set to tee off Thursday at 7:30 AM ET. Asked about strategy on a course he remembers as firmer and faster, he noted the greens felt noticeably slower than he recalled.
Whether the hand holds up across four rounds is the question hanging over his title defence attempt. Koepka, for his part, has given no indication he is treating it as one.