CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — It isn’t what people say about Brooks Koepka that gets under his skin and, in turn, fuels him.

It’s what they don’t say about him.

Even though he has won consecutive U.S. Opens, Koepka still feels like he’s flying under the radar as he heads into the British Open at Carnoustie.

The sound of silence is like a bunker rake across the chalkboard for Koepka, ranked fourth in the world. For instance, on the day he won the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills in New York last month, a popular sports network used its Instagram account to post a video clip of NFL receiver Odell Beckham Jr. dunking a basketball.

“It’s like, well, he should be able to,” Koepka said. “He’s like 6-2. He’s got hops, we all know that, and he’s got hands. So what’s impressive about that?

“But I always try to find something where I feel like I’m kind of the underdog and kind of put that little chip on my shoulder. Even if you’re No. 1, you’ve got to find a way to keep going and find that little chip and try to get better and better. … Once you’re satisfied, you’re only going to go downhill from there.”

Koepka bookends an impressive run by U.S. players, who have won the last five major championships.

Sandwiched between his U.S. Open victories are wins by Jordan Spieth (2017 British Open), Justin Thomas (2017 PGA Championship), and Patrick Reed (2018 Masters).

Koepka’s route to the PGA Tour was more roundabout than that of Spieth and some of the players in their early 20s. After leaving Florida State in 2012, Koepka joined the second-tier Challenge Tour, where he won three events over the next year to earn his European Tour card.

“I didn’t have any options, really many, when I turned pro except to come over here and play,” he said. “I enjoyed it. And I know I’ve said a million times, it was the most fun I’ve ever had playing golf. … I enjoyed it way more than I probably do now playing on the tour.”

He said, despite all his success, he misses those simpler times.

“I was definitely more relaxed,” said Koepka. “When we were playing, it felt like the whole tour was on the plane, and then you’d get there and there’s two hotels, and everybody is staying in a small town and goes and eats together. I found that so much fun. The whole restaurant is basically guys that are playing the event and their families or whatever.

“Looking back on it, I wish it probably could have lasted a little bit longer.”

Then again, Koepka wouldn’t be where he is now if he wasn’t supremely focused on moving forward in his career.

“There’s certain steps and I just embraced it,” he said. “I think that’s where a lot of guys go wrong. You are where you are, and you make the best of it. Instead, guys just put their heads down and they’re like, ‘Well, I should be on the PGA Tour.’

“Well, guess what? You’re not. So you’ve got to suck it up where you’re at, make the best of it, and try to win everything you can. Because eventually, if you’re good enough, you will get out here.”

SOME PLAYERS had to give up their drivers – at least temporarily – as officials decided to test them to see if they were in violation of the rules.

“We take our governance role very seriously, not just on the rules of golf and amateur status, but also equipment standards,” said Martin Slumbers, chief executive of the R&A. “And we felt it was an appropriate next step to more actively seek to test players’ drivers straight out of the bag.”

Both the R&A and the USGA measure what is known as “characteristic time,” or CT, to determine whether drivers conform to limits on “spring-like effect” that determines how far the golf ball can be hit.

Slumbers said all the players who had clubs tested were cooperative, and that the testing did not uncover any violations.

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