Brooks Koepka knew he had a big year from looking at that U.S. Open trophy. A look into his closet brought even more evidence.
One of Koepka's traditions at the start of every year is to go down to the beach and write a list of goals for the year on a yellow sheet of paper. He tapes it on the wall of his closet, then invariably forgets about it.
"I'm usually looking down trying to find clothes and shoes," Koepka said.
A few weeks ago, he happened to look at eye level and noticed his list for the year, which had about seven items related to golf and five items off the golf course. Among the ones he ticked off was winning a major (U.S. Open), having at least a share of the first-round lead in a major (British Open) and then one of the bigger ones, having the lowest aggregate score in the majors (21-under par).
He described them as "little goals," only because of the detail, such as having the solo lead after the first round. He took care of that Thursday in the HSBC Champions.
"You can make them as detailed as you want," he said. "When you go into specifics, a lot of those things come true."
He didn't get them all.
One goal was to not miss a cut. He missed the cut by one shot in his first tournament of the year at Torrey Pines. He also wanted to win multiple times, meaning he will have to either successfully defend at the Dunlop Phoenix next week in Japan or win the Hero World Challenge.
"The biggest change for me was off the golf course," Koepka said. "The hardest thing for me was making sure I was in the gym five days a week when we played. Some days I've gone seven."
Overall, Koepka was pleased with how many he got. He'll do it again this year, only at a different beach. Koepka will be on Maui for the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
Dr. John
The University of Virginia's oldest living football player and a member of the official statistics crew until this season has died. Dr. John Risher was 107 years old.
Risher graduated in 1932 with a degree in chemistry. He attended Virginia's School of Medicine, earning his medical doctorate in 1936.
He also was a member of the 1931 Virginia football team. He saw his only game action in a season-opening 18-0 victory over Roanoke at Lambeth Field, which was the Cavaliers' only victory that season. Risher hurt his ankle a week later, and he never saw the field again.
300 times 2
Husband and wife Michael and Jasmine Snell bowled 300 games on the same night in Omaha, Neb.
Wrote Dwight Perry of The Seattle Times:
"Or as they're now known around Chops Bowling Alley, the perfect couple."
Sports quiz
In his second career start in 1998, Roy Halladay threw a one-hitter against this team.
Sports answer
The Detroit Tigers
Sports on 11/08/2017