Golf: Koepka withdraws from U.S. Open due to knee injury

Brooks Koepka of the United States lines up a putt on the 11th green during the final round of the 2020 PGA Championship in San Francisco, California, August 9, 2020. /VCG

Brooks Koepka will miss next week's U.S. Open due to his ongoing knee injury, the two time champion said on Wednesday. Koepka has been plagued by a knee problem all season and skipped this year's FedExCup playoffs.

"Unfortunately, I have decided to withdraw from next week's U.S. Open," he wrote on Twitter. "I'm looking forward to getting healthy and competing at 100 percent again very soon."

Koepka won his first major at the 2017 U.S. Open and defended the crown in 2018, the first player to win back-to-back U.S. Open titles since Curtis Strange in 1988 and 1989.

Brooks Koepka of the United States lines up a putt on the tenth green during the first round of the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina, August 13, 2020. /VCG

He injured his left knee in early 2019 and re-injured it last year in South Korea. He sat out almost five months and missed the cut or withdrew from three of five starts before the March COVID-19 season shutdown.

He was a runner-up last month at the WGC St. Jude Invitational but, the following week, Koepka needed hip treatment on the course during the second round of the PGA, where he faded with a final-round 74.

The 30-year-old American, who has won four majors, could still have a chance to add to his tally this year at the Masters, which are taking place in November after being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

(With input from agencies)