Brooks Koepka finished T37 at the 2017 FedEx St. Jude Classic. One week later, he won the U.S. Open by four strokes. What changed? Pete Cowen gave him hell.

The world’s 22nd-ranked player had just sleepwalked through four rounds in Memphis. His scores looked acceptable—68-66-72-73, one-under total—but the demeanor didn’t. Cowen watched from the ropes and saw something worse than missed cuts. He saw a player who’d given up before the tournament ended.

“He was a disgrace, walking around as though his dog had died. Poor me, poor me, poor me.” Cowen recalled on Rick Shiels’ podcast . “You embarrass me. I was embarrassed. Totally embarrassed. Your attitude was poor. With an attitude like that, you win nothing,” Cowen told Koepka.

Cowen sat Koepka down and delivered this message without

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