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The 2016 Waste Man-

agement Phoenix Open

(WMPO) just wrapped up

last week, but here is a look

back at the last year’s winner,

Brooks Koepka, who had an

amazing year in 2015.

One of the PGA Tour’s

newest stars, Brooks Koepka

nurtured his golfing career

in southeastern Florida, but

it took root, in Scotland,

Kazakhstan, Kenya, Turkey,

and finally ‘bore fruit’ in

America’s desert southwest.

Get ready golf world, Koepka

is prepared and equipped

for another harvest of first-

place finishes, which could

include a Green Jacket in

April in eastern Georgia!

On Super Bowl Sunday

last year, when most sports

fan’s attention was focused

on the Phoenix suburb of

Glendale, the golfing world

was watching another

sporting spectacle unfold

at the WMPO, taking place

across town in Scottsdale.

Young Koepka was left

standing alone at the top of

the leaderboard, one stroke

clear of the field, which

included, two-time Masters

Champion Bubba Watson,

rising Japanese superstar

Hideki Matsuyama, and

American

phenomena,

Jordan Spieth.When Koepka

started the final round, he

was three shots off the lead

held by Scotland’s Martin

Laird. By day’s end, he

was second to none after a

closing round of 5-under-

par 66. Over the weekend,

he bested a world-class

field that included major

champions and two FedEx

Cup winners. Simply put,

Koepka is the real deal and

the golfers of the world

know it.

What was Koepka’s response

to his inaugural PGA Tour

victory? Not much!

“It feels amazing,” said

Koepka, who won the

Turkish Open in November

of 2014 for his first victory

on the European Tour and

qualified for last year’s

Masters by virtue of a fourth-

place finish at the 2014 U.S.

Open at Pinehurst, where

he was America’s highest

finisher.

“I have known Brooks since

he was in sixth grade,” says

Deacon Greg Sherman,

Brooks’ high school golf

coach at Cardinal Newman

High School in West Palm

BROOKS KOEPKA

A NEW STAR

IS BORN

By:

Mike May

NWO Golf Links