CROMWELL, Conn. -- It's definitely not the toughest PGA Tour surname to spell, but I'll be damned if it isn't hard to keep from typing "Kopeka" when you write about the U.S. Open champion.
1. The U.S. Open used to be the domain of players such as Lee Janzen and Corey Pavin, guys who kept it in the short stuff, grinded out pars and minimized their mistakes. But the tournament has taken on a much different feel in recent years, with the likes of Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson winning. There's nothing wrong with that. It's called evolution. This is just another example of why big hitters have an advantage on any kind of golf course.
2. My issue with this U.S. Open (as I detailed in this column Saturday) wasn't the course or the setup. It wasn't even the scoring, with red numbers littering the leaderboard. It was that players felt too comfortable at a tournament whose identity is rooted in just the opposite. Justin Thomas said it best after his third-round 63: "The U.S. Open is supposed to be very uncomfortable. I think it's kind of what the USGA and U.S. Open is known for is making you kind of hate yourself and hate golf and just really struggle out there." This one never accomplished that goal.
3. It's going to sound like crying wolf if we herald Koepka as The Next Big Thing -- especially on the heels of naming Thomas, Jon Rahm and Hideki Matsuyama to that position already this year (while Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth already own emeritus status). So let's keep the hype subdued: He's really talented, mashes the ball and tends to bring his best stuff to the majors. No reason to go overboard here, even coming off his impressive triumph.
4. Happy learned how to putt. Uh-oh! That old "Happy Gilmore" line was theoretically built for Matsuyama. He was rightly criticized for his short putting in the early years of his professional career, but -- beginning with his late-year success last year and through last week's T-2 finish -- he's clearly figured out this part of his game. With his ballstriking skills, he needs only to be just a little above average with his putter to contend.
5. Don't believe that last stat? Still think the old "drive for show, putt for dough" axiom rings true? Guess again. Example No. 19,839 comes from Koepka: He ranked 51st in putting average for the week but first in total driving, hitting 87 percent of fairways while also adding some serious distance. Believe this much: Those numbers will earn a player more cash than first in putting and 51st in driving.
6. Brian Harman isn't a big guy, a fact that is magnified by his going against the likes of broad-shouldered Koepka this week. He's the type of player called things like "gritty" and "gutty," which might be true but are also stereotypical comments about a player his size. But let's stop calling him short off the tee. Harman averages 288.2 yards per drive, which is just a notch below the PGA Tour average.
7. I loved this take from Harman when he was asked Saturday what people think about him: "Everything I read says that I hit it super short. I don't think I do. Maybe I do. I don't know. Ends up where it ends up."
8. We haven't heard the last from Tommy Fleetwood, not even close. He'll follow his fourth-place result by playing in next month's Open Championship at Royal Birkdale -- a course he used to sneak onto, right in his hometown of Southport, England. Expect a hearty Fleetwood cheering section, and expect another display of strong golf.
9. If there's a benchmark for brilliance in a major championship, it belongs to Tiger Woods at the 2000 U.S. Open, as he won that event by a whopping 15 strokes. But one of Tiger's records has fallen. He posted 21 birdies that week, which stood as the tournament mark until Brendan Steele, who finished T-13, passed him with 22. That's a great piece of trivia to win a free round at the 19th hole.
10. It's time for the U.S. Open to count as not just a PGA Tour-sanctioned event but also a Web.com one. Right now, it's hurting players who actually make the effort to qualify. Take a guy like Jack Maguire, for instance. He advanced through local and sectional qualifying, then made the cut at Erin Hills, finishing T-42. And what did that do for his Web.com standing? Despite hanging with the world's best for the week, he dropped on the tour's money list from 54th to 59th. That's not fair.
11. On Sunday afternoon, I tweeted about the fans at Erin Hills -- like those at so many other events -- yelling after golf shots, but it's worth repeating the explanation for why it happens and why it hasn't been marginalized. Here's the ugly truth on fans yelling stupid stuff: Everyone watching at home wants to punch 'em in the face. Everyone near 'em laughs. Tourneys don't have enough security/volunteers to police it. Spectators have to be vigilant. See an idiot yell? Don't laugh. Call 'em out.
12. I've always been conflicted about the USGA's 18-hole playoff philosophy. I hated it in 2001, when Retief Goosen beat Mark Brooks; I loved it in 2008, when Woods beat Rocco Mediate. To be honest, I wasn't really looking forward to the prospect of another 18 holes on Monday, but here's a bigger reason to be glad it didn't happen: Right around 2 p.m. local time, when the playoff would've been, oh, about 14 holes deep, it started pouring at Erin Hills -- and didn't stop for a while. It would've turned what was already a long week into a long day afterward.
13. Six months into his tenure, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has placed his first momentous stamp on the job. It was announced Tuesday that, beginning with the 2017-18 season, the PGA Tour will start blood testing, with all banned substances following WADA's prohibited list. And that's not all: Included in the fine print was the fact that all player suspensions for recreational drugs will be reported and made public. Kudos to the commish. This is a long overdue move that needed to happen.
14. Here was Monahan at last month's Players Championship on the subject of transparency: "The system that we have has worked very well for us. We consider our members to be family matters. ... And I think the ultimate deciding factor for us is that our system works. But we're aware of the discussion, we take very seriously any discussion that ties back to the integrity of our organization and the sport, and we're taking a look at that and we'll continue to make sure that we're really understanding what's in the best interests." Either that was a world-class smokescreen by Monahan, or he's done a 180 since then.
15. I know what many fans will think in the wake of this announcement: Why? Why do we need to know the personal drug tests of PGA Tour members? It's because transparency is the only way to eliminate doubt. It's the only way for a guiltless player taking a two-month vacation to be able to absolve himself from the rumors that inevitably float around anytime that happens. And because public figures -- and yes, like it or not, PGA Tour members are public figures -- should be held to a certain standard. This exists in every other sport. It's about time golf followed suit.
16. McIlroy and Jason Day will each follow missed cuts at the U.S. Open by playing in the Travelers Championship this week. What they'll find is a fun, friendly atmosphere that serves as a nice change of pace after a major. It should be exactly what they need to get back on track.
17. If you're looking for a big-name star to play really well at TPC River Highlands, though, I'm leaning away from McIlroy and Day. Instead, give me Spieth, who found a little mojo with a final-round 3-under 69 on Sunday. He's never played this event, but the course should suit his game perfectly.
18. For what it's worth, Google shows around 7,700 hits for a search of "Brooks Kopeka." That might sound like a lot, but it pales in comparison with "Rory McIlory" and "Jordan Speith."