Brooks Koepka has the ‘X’ factor on his bag at Royal Portrush

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – Brooks Koepka admits having a “big advantage” with his caddie Ricky Elliott, the Portrush native who estimates he’s played roughly 1,000 rounds at this week’s Open Championship venue.

Exactly how big? Evidently, big enough to spurn Tiger Woods’ offer of a practice round at Royal Portrush.

After Koepka’s second-place finish at last month’s U.S. Open, Woods texted him congratulations for another great finish at a major. Then he asked about tagging along for a practice round with Koepka (and Elliott, of course) this week.

Koepka’s response?

“I’ve heard nothing,” Woods said with a grin.

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Such is the value of a weapon like Elliott. Most players in the 156-man field are unfamiliar with Royal Portrush, which is hosting its first Open Championship in 68 years. Woods, for instance, has played practice rounds at other courses in Northern Ireland but had never been to Portrush until his arrival last weekend. “This is all new to me,” said the 15-time major winner.

Portrush is also new for world No. 1 Koepka, the four-time major winner who began his professional career in Europe and has played all over the world yet had never stepped foot into Northern Ireland prior to last Friday.

No worries. Elliott provides so much expertise that Koepka expects to spend most of his time at Royal Portrush just listening rather than strategizing.

“Every hole, I just step up on, ‘You tell me what to do; you’ve played it more than anybody,’ ” Koepka said Tuesday when asked about having Elliott on his bag. “Just let him figure it out. He knows his spots to miss it, the spots to come in from, with different hole locations and different winds.

“Definitely have a little bit more confidence having him on the bag this week, knowing this golf course so well.”

Elliott certainly knows 16 of the 18 holes very well. Two holes – the par-5 seventh and par-4 eighth – are new, and the old 17th and 18th holes are gone. The rest are very familiar, and Elliott has emphasized the importance of finding the correct spots – so much so that the big-hitting Koepka may use driver just five or six times each round.

But perhaps the biggest challenge for Elliott is adjusting the strategy for how he played Royal Portrush to Koepka’s game.

“I’ve played there a lot growing up, but Brooks hits the ball differently than the lines I hit on,” Elliott recently told the BBC. “I’ll have to work on my yardage book for Brooks playing it. But obviously a little local knowledge doesn’t hurt.”

Royal Portrush had not yet been tabbed as an Open Championship venue when Koepka and Elliott hooked up.

It was in 2013. Koepka, who started on the Challenge Tour in Europe before moving up to the European Tour, was starting the transition to the PGA TOUR and needed a caddie to join him in the U.S. A couple of names kept popping up. One of those was Elliott, a successful youth golfer in Northern Ireland who played collegiately in the States at the University of Toledo, then worked as an assistant pro before becoming a full-time caddie.

Koepka’s swing coach, Claude Harmon, suggested calling Elliott first. They spoke for 30 minutes. That was enough to convince Koepka to give him a tryout.

“I liked the way he went about things,” Koepka recalled. “He was kind of light. He was joking on the phone. And that’s somebody I want.

“I want somebody that’s not going to be so focused all the time. My personality, I laugh and joke on the golf course. I know it doesn’t look like it, but the camera is not on us all the time. He’s pretty laid-back.”

Their first tournament was the 2013 PGA Championship at Oak Hill. Koepka, who had missed the cut in his first two majors, finished T-70. He liked the confidence Elliott displayed with club choices, yardages and wind direction. “He was dead sure in it,” Koepka said. “He just knew the right things to say.”

Harmon called Elliott that Sunday night and asked if he wanted to continue carrying Koepka’s bag. The answer was an easy yes. From the first time Elliott saw Koepka up close on the range, he knew Koepka was the real deal, headed for greatness.

“There was just something about him,” Elliott said.

Something special, for sure. Koepka has risen to the top of the golf world. He successfully defended his U.S. Open title last year and was successful in his PGA defense in May. In his last four major starts, he’s gone 1-T2-1-2.

“What he’s done in the last four major championships has been just unbelievable,” Woods said.

And yet Koepka’s not entirely satisfied with the results. Had he not found the water at the 12th hole at Augusta National, this year’s Masters might have been his. And in his three-peat bid at the U.S. Open, he played great at Pebble Beach, only to come up short to Gary Woodland.

“Yeah, it’s incredible,” Koepka said of his current major stretch. “But at the same time, it’s been quite disappointing, you know? Finishing second sucks.”

At the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, Koepka was likely hoping to just not finish last after his first 22 holes. He was 7 over at that point, having opened with a 75 and then bogeying two of his first four holes in the second round.

That’s when Elliott turned to him and said, “You’re not far out of it, so get it going.”

Koepka responded with a laugh. But for Elliott, this was no laughing matter.

“For the first time, he really got serious with me,” said Koepka, who responded with six birdies in his final 14 bogey-free holes that round. Koepka clawed his way up the leaderboard and was tied for fourth after 36 holes. Two rounds later, he won his second consecutive U.S. Open.

Koepka will enter Royal Portrush hoping to continue his legacy. But he knows this week is particularly special for Elliott. On Friday, they ate at the Harbour Bar, one of the best-known restaurants in Portrush. Koepka later visited Elliott’s parents, who live close to the course, and saw Elliott’s childhood home. During practice rounds, the gallery has shouted Ricky’s name.

“I don’t think when he grew up that he ever thought there would be an Open Championship here,” Koepka said. “And to top it off, I don’t think he ever through he’d be a part of it.

“And to be caddying and to be able to win one here would be – he’d be a legend, wouldn’t he? He already is. But it would be cool to see him win.”