Sports

Brooks Koepka Voted PGA Tour's Top Player Of The Year

October 9, 2018 / 2:10 PM EDT / CBS Detroit

click to expand

ST ANDREWS, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 06: Brooks Koepka of The United States chips onto the 17th green during day three of the 2018 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at The Old Course on October 6, 2018 in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

U.S. Open and PGA champion Brooks Koepka added to his trophy collection Tuesday when he picked up the Jack Nicklaus Award trophy as the PGA Tour player of the year.

Koepka is the sixth player in the last six years to win the award, the longest streak of different winners since PGA Tour players began voting on the award in 1990.

Along with winning two majors, Koepka said he was most proud of his attitude when he wasn't playing. He missed four months at the start of the year recovering from a partially torn tendon in his left wrist but then made up for lost time in a big way.

"I was down when I was missing everything," Koepka said. "I tried to have the most positive spin on it when I was home. It did stink. It was the worst, emotionally tough times for me. Sometimes when I would question it, I kept saying: 'I'll do it. I'll be fine.' Good news or bad news, I had positive energy."

In his fourth tournament back, he was runner-up at Colonial. Three weeks later, he held off Dustin Johnson at Shinnecock Hills to win the U.S. Open for the second straight year, becoming the first back-to-back U.S. Open champion since Curtis Strange in 1988 and 1989.

Two months later, Koepka held off Tiger Woods amid ear-splitting roars on the back nine at Bellerive to win the PGA Championship by two shots. Koepka tied a major championship record by finishing at 264.

AUGUSTA, GA - APRIL 05: (L-R) Honorary starters Gary Player of South Africa and Jack Nicklaus of the United States laugh on the first tee during the opening tee ceremony to start the first round of the 2018 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 5, 2018 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

He became the fifth player to win the U.S. Open and PGA Championship in the same year, joining Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen.

The tour does not disclose how many votes he received from a ballot that included Johnson, British Open champion Francesco Molinari, FedEx Cup champion Justin Rose, Justin Thomas and Bryson DeChambeau.

PARIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 29: Dustin Johnson of the United States and partner Paulina Gretzky during the morning fourball matches of the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National on September 29, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Johnson, Thomas and DeChambeau each won three times.

AUGUSTA, GA - APRIL 07: Arnold Palmer watches the ceremonial first tee shot to start the first round of the 2011 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 7, 2011 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Thomas won the Arnold Palmer Trophy for leading the PGA Tour money list for the second straight year, making him the first player since Woods in 2006-07 to win the money title in consecutive years.

Johnson won the Byron Nelson Award for having the lowest adjusted scoring average on the PGA Tour. He also won the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average, which is awarded by the PGA of America.

Koepka's award was presented at The Bear's Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, the home course of Nicklaus.

Thomas was in Malaysia to start his new season. Johnson came by The Bear's Club and did a short video with Koepka, one of his best friends in golf, just a week after a British newspaper reported they had to be separated during a skirmish at a European party following the Ryder Cup. Koepka denies being in a fight, saying he and Johnson laughed about the report.

PARIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 30: Paul Casey of Europe and Brooks Koepka of the United States shake hands during singles matches of the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National on September 30, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Koepka received the award during his one week at home. After the Ryder Cup, he played the Dunhill Links Championship at St. Andrews. He leaves this weekend for the CJ Cup in South Korea, followed by the HSBC Champions in Shanghai.