Add Brooks Koepka to the marquee names of golf’s youth movement

There’s still a little room left on the Brooks Koepka Bandwagon. (Brandwagon?) Hop on.

Koepka broke through for his first pro win in the U.S. on Sunday, taking the Waste Management Phoenix Open with a dramatic rally, including an eagle 3 at the par-5 15th as leader Martin Laird fell by the wayside. It gives Koepka a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour and a boost to 19th in the latest Official World Golf Ranking.

For a lot of American golf fans, the name might sound unfamiliar. However, Koepka has paved his own path to this moment and dominated almost every step of the way. The Florida St. product went overseas after turning pro, earning his European Tour card with three wins on the Challenge Tour (their equivalent of the Web.com Tour). Back in November, Koepka broke through there with a win in the Turkish Airlines Open against as good of a field the European Tour can offer.

However, thanks in part to a T-4 finish in the U.S. Open and T-3 effort at the 2013 Frys.com Open, Koepka had earned PGA Tour status for this season. In three events as a full member, he’s now not finished outside the top eight. Good start.

Koepka was already in the Masters by virtue of his 2014-ending world ranking, but he now enters the conversation of potential sneaky picks. His length will be a huge asset at Augusta National, and, if he can solve the lightning-quick green complexes, he could be in line for a Sunday second-nine charge akin to the one he put on at TPC Scottsdale.

With Rory McIlroy leading the way, and the likes of Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Hideki Matsuyama, Rickie Fowler and Jason Day behind him, a wave of 20-something players are staking their claim as the leaders of golf’s next generation. The question now becomes: Which one, if any, can play McIlroy’s foil?

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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