Column: Brooks Koepka has major credentials

At last week’s Scottish Open at Gullane, Rickie Fowler came out on top of a world class field. His fantastic round on Sunday showed us why he has to be taken seriously for a chance at the Open. It was a solid week for Irishman Shane Lowry and Graeme McDowell, who showed glimpses of his old form from Thursday to Saturday.

On the PGA Tour, Jordan Spieth continued his remarkable form with yet another victory in the John Deere Classic. Even though he found himself a long way back after round one he managed to shoot 64, 61, 68 in his final three rounds to win in a play off with Tom Gillis.

Korean In Gee Chun won her first major at the U.S. Women’s Open last week. The 20 year old fought off compatriot Amy Yang who had led going into the final round. Charley Hull was the best placed Briton, tying for 42nd.

In Amateur golf, the North of Ireland Championship has reached the match-play stages. Always a well supported event amongst Ireland’s elite amateurs, this year we will see a new champion as last years winner Chris Selfridge, has since joined the paid ranks.

This week we see arguably the biggest week in the golfing calendar as the Open Championship returns to the ‘home of golf’, St Andrews.

With no Rory McIlroy in the field, Jordan Spieth comes in as the firm favourite. Our first pick this week is American Brooks Koepka. With little wind forecast for the opening days, the long hitting Floridian will be well suited to the soft conditions. A great up and coming player, who in our opinion, has major winning potential.

Our second pick is another long ball hitter. Swede Henrik Stenson will have a great chance this week. He has knocked on the door of many Major Championships but has fallen just short. As a proven performer in the Open Championship, we think he has a great chance of breaking his Major duck at St Andrews.

Quick Tip:

On so many occasions we see amateur golfers who put a lot of time into improving their game, yet they continue to struggle for consistent results. Often, this can come down to ineffective practice. At the JFGA, we like to remind our students that effort doesn’t always guarantee progress.

We like to prescribe what we call ‘effective and measurable practice’ to our students. Next time you go to work on your game, don’t just mindlessly hit balls and chips and expect to get better. Spend some time before you start to plan your session to get the most out of it.

A typical one hour practice session could look like this:

20 minutes: Technical practice on fundamentals with result bearing no relevance.

20 minutes: Shot variety. Hitting different shapes and trajectories to test your creativity.

20 minutes: Competitive practice to simulate on course tests. Here, routine and process are the main focus with little or no thought on technique.

Thanks for reading. If you would like to find out more about the Johnny Foster Golf Academy please visit www.johnnyfostergolfacademy.com to view details on our coaching offers and summer junior camps. Until next time...