VIDEO: Brooks Koepka Hits Shot Off Cart Path at U.S. Open, Makes Par

Brooks Koepka plays golf by his own rules, dammit, wearing tie-dye hats at the U.S. Open and hitting shots off the cart path when other, easier options are available to him. Well, nuts to playing it safe. On the 18th hole during his first round of the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, Koepka made the decision to smash a ball off the cart path instead of taking a free drop to get it back in the grass. And in classic Brooks fashion at a major, it worked perfectly.

Yeah, that’s a 214-yard shot off the cart path. Looks like he got about a millimeter of asphalt in the process. Textbook shot.

By the basic rules of golf, Koepka could have dropped his ball two club lengths no closer to the hole from where it crossed the man-made path. So you see all that flat ground with no rough to the left of him. Yeah, somewhere over there.

Instead, Koepka opted for a shot with his feet above his ball, which was lying precariously on the cart path. No worries. He stripped it, hit a chip onto the green, and two-putted for par. Koepka finished the day at 2-under, three back of the lead. If he wins his third straight U.S. Open, which would be the first time that happened since 1905, remember this moment. I’m sure he will.