While engraving the winner’s name on the U.S. Open trophy, the engraver looked at Brooks and said, “You again?”

 

Koepka’s dad, Bob – a 1977 Bridgeport High School graduate – saw it all. Last year, he watched his son take top tournament honors via the small screen. Winning back-to-back may have been a longshot – especially since Brooks’ wrist injury kept him off the course for a few months. But “Koep” had faith in his son’s ability and he had decided he would be with him when he attempted to capture a second consecutive victory.

 

“My wife Sherry and I said we were not missing this one,” he said. “And this year was definitely sweeter – to be there and experience it first-hand.”

 

Again, the U.S. Open – held this year at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southhampton, NY – fell on Father’s Day. Brooks had set the bar high last year when he captured the U.S. Open victory by one stroke at Wisconsin’s Erin Hills Golf Course.

 

On the morning of Sunday, June 17, it all began to unfold again – and it started with a phone call.

 

“Brooks went to work out and when he got back from the gym he called me to wish me a happy Father’s Day,” Bob said. “We talked a little bit and I told him to go get it done.”

 

The father and son saw each other face-to-face upon arrival at the course.

 

“We were waiting to give him a hug and wish him luck,” Bob said. “We followed him to the first tee and he went in the ropes and we went along on the outside.”

 

Brooks got off to a great start.

 

“He birdied No. 2 – a long par 3 – and that got him to 2 over and he birdied No. 3 right after that and then birdied No. 5,” Bob said.

 

Brooks stayed at or near the top of the leaderboard throughout the tourney. Going into the 18^th hole, he was up two. A bogey – a long drive onto the green and pair of controlled putts – was enough to do the trick and outplay runner-up Tommy Fleetwood by a single stroke.

He had done it. He was the second in the history of the tournament to defend the title. Curtis Strange had done the same in 1988-89.

It was surreal, Bob said.

 

“We locked eyes and he said, ‘Happy Father’s Day’ and I just told him how proud I was. I told him he did it and that he was in the history books.”

 

Brooks was soon swept away to sign the score card, leaving Bob and Sherry, Brooks' girlfriend, actress/model Jena Sims and other members of his friend-and-family fan club – with an entourage of media.

 

“There were all these different media outlets from across the country,” he said. “They all took a couple comments from me and wrote articles, each with a different take.”

 

The focus of New York Times, ESPN and Golf Channel stories talked about how Brooks was a chip off the old block when it came to athletic ability and a calm, cool demeanor.

 

The elder Koepka – a former Indian basketball and baseball player, who took the latter sport on to a collegiate level, playing for the West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats – said his son was calmer and more confident this year.

 

He was also extremely driven.

 

“He was more determined from the standpoint that he had heard all the reporters and everyone talking about who the favorites were and no one mentioned him,” Bob said. “He felt like he was being overlooked and he wanted and needed to prove them all wrong.”

 

Brooks isn’t in the game for the glamour, his dad said.

 

“You’re not going to see him out there promoting himself,” he said. “He prefers to stay in the background and let his playing do the talking.”

That, he certainly did. And that thrills Bob Koepka.

 

“You know, all you want for your kids is for them to have great opportunities,” he said. “For Brooks to be able to go out there and have the success he’s having, it’s my hobby - my thrill - to watch him play.”

 

That goes for the younger Koepka brother, too. Chase is following in his older brother’s footsteps by playing the European tour. In early-August, he’ll play in Denmark and Switzerland. Bob will be there.

 

Brooks is back on the course this week, playing in Hartford, Connecticut, then taking a week off, whisking off in his private jet with friends for a Las Vegas bachelor party, then getting back to business, preparing for the 2018 Open Championship, July 19-22 at Carnoustie Golf Links in Angus, Scotland.

 

“I’m just a kid who grew up in Bridgeport, drank out of the garden hose and played hide and seek,” Bob said. “I never dreamed I would be the dad of professional athletes.”

 

Bob thanks his hometown.

 

“Thank you for all the support. I’ve had a lot of people I grew up with and went to high school with reach out to me,” he said. “Brooks and Chase never lived there but they have such a connection there and it’s really meaningful to have everybody back home pulling for them.”

 

When that engraver finished the second entry of the name Brooks Koepka on that U.S. Open trophy, he looked at the 28-year-old Florida State graduate and said, “I’ll see you again next year – in Pebble Beach.”

 

Bob plans to be there. A three-peat would be history, for sure; not to mention another Father’s Day for the books.