He was the polar opposite of the ugly-American stereotype, and he returned home a lot less likely to sweat a bad bounce into the Erin Hills fescue because of it.
His comeback was completed with a victory at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in January, and now, he's one good round away from winning the U.S. Open.
Ahead of what promises to be a gripping Sunday showdown at Erin Hills, we take a look at those best placed to break new ground by taking the title.
Koepka made three birdies over his last seven holes for a 68. "For the most part, the wind was nonexistent".
"If you hit it in the fairway, you can attack the golf course". With wind a nonfactor, a red-number logjam emerged on the first page of the leaderboard with two rounds to play in the second major of the season.
He made three birdies and one bogey on his opening nine holes (the back nine) to move to 1-under par, including a crowd-pleasing birdie on 18 when his 101-yard approach shot hit the hole and stopped less than a foot away.
A triple-bogey didn't stop Paul Casey from grabbing a share of the lead at the midway point of the U.S. Open at Erin Hills.
World No.9 Rickie Fowler, who held the halfway lead, earned solo fifth with a 68, with Players Championship victor Si Woo Kim a shot back alone in sixth after also carding a 68. "Yeah, it was a bit of a roller coaster". "I struck the ball nicely, had some opportunities, rolled a few putts over the edge".
Fleetwood said: "I'll be happy if it blows, I don't mind either way".
5 things to watch for on Sunday at the US Open
Fowler started one shot out of the lead at the Masters this year and shot 76. "I played two good rounds, but it wasn't enough". Two years ago, he carded a 29 on the back nine of the final round at Chambers Bay, equaling the lowest nine-hole score in U.S.
Six players are at 4-under, including Chez Reavie, the other player to shoot 65.
Every player on the leader board is following a similar script (albeit with less power). "I'd love to have another one of those", Thomas said. Going into the final round, 42 players were still under par.
The cut came at 1 over, which tied the record for lowest cut in tournament history, in relation to par, also established in 1990.
Although Koepka's game goes well beyond his power off the tee, at Erin Hills, which played to 7,839 yards on Friday, his distance advantage has been crucial.
However, the world number 50 - featuring in his first major since 2015 - has played beautifully throughout the week, with accuracy off the tee a significant factor in his success. "Looking forward to the next two days". We were anxious about putting driver into that bunker. "I mean, it doesn't really get me too worked up".
"It's just golf. It's frustrating".
However, it wasn't all great for some of the guys on the course on Saturday. The forecast calls for overnight showers and scattered thunderstorms throughout Saturday.
A commercial blimp crashed to the ground and caught fire just outside the course Thursday, about the time the county health department was analyzing samples that confirmed evidence of the E. coli bacteria in water at a hydration station near the 12th hole.
"I saw some positives there on the back nine coming in and hopefully I can take them to the Travelers (tournament) next week". They're starting to narrow down and are getting firm. "Even though it's very disappointing to not be here on the weekend, I think these last two rounds will serve me well going into the summer". But it isn't a US Open course that I'm familiar with, the way it was set up.
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