Brooks Koepka Plays Nine-Hole Practice Round Ahead of U.S. Open

U.S. Open. Koepka withdrew before the final round of the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday after weakness and numbness developed in the pinkie and ring fingers of his left hand, making it difficult to grip a club.

He had imaging of his neck performed Sunday in Canada and again Monday in New York. Koepka, 36, said the symptoms first appeared while he was watching television Friday night and flared again during his warmup Saturday. He attributed the issue to irritation of the ulnar nerve, which runs down the arm and can be affected by repetitive elbow bending.

"It's getting better day by day," Koepka said. "I would say yesterday was pretty much how it was Sunday, but today there was quite a bit of improvement. " "I don't think the grip strength is a hundred percent, but it's good enough," he added.

"There's absolutely no pain, which is kind of the weirdest part of this whole thing. I'd almost prefer there was a little bit of pain. " Koepka said the movement in his hand remained normal and that only the ring and pinkie fingers were affected.

During the downswing transition, those fingers would lose contact with the club, and the sensation intensified at impact with the turf. Koepka herniated his C5 and C6 vertebrae in 2021. He stated that the current episode did not involve pain and that he judged his condition sufficient to continue preparing for the tournament.