'I holed the first two bunker shots and he started to listen'

On the last hole at the US Open he faced a horrible chip shot over sand, was that the right shot?

Yes, it definitely was because of the slope on the green. A lot of people said why didn’t he putt it but he knew he couldn’t get it close. He could putt it but it stood a chance of going 20 feet away so when he chipped it on the high side and it just rolled round, he knew he’d get it within certainly six or seven feet. But his bunker play has improved the most.

Are you in charge of the putting as well?

I don’t do putting. I think putting should be a quarter of a shot. I’m in the Hogan camp, Hogan used to say putting should be half a stroke. I would say it’s a quarter of a stroke but that’s my own belief in any case. It shouldn’t count the same as hitting the 2-iron 260 yards over water and stopping it within six foot of the flag. Has it got the same tariff? No, it hasn’t.

How does it work with Claude Harmon, at what part do you step in?

Somebody on Twitter was quite funny, they said I hope he handles Brooks’ short game, which is anything under 350 yards. Claude helps an awful lot just to keep him on the straight and narrow, he does his basics really, mixed with the fact that he’s watching everything. If Claude’s not there, I’ll have a look and make sure he’s alright. It works alright. Obviously when you’ve got a winning team, you don’t spoil it.

What was he like when you first met him in 2014?

There’s quite an interesting story about that. Ricky introduced me to him when we were at Wentworth and he was asking me about short game and he said ‘well, if you’re that good, you show me.’ I holed the first two bunker shots and he started to listen.

We went to a pub near Ascot for a meal that night, to get introduced to each other and Brooks arrived in a nice restaurant with his baseball hat on back to front and I thought ‘no, no, I can’t have that’.

We’re sat at the table and a really attractive girl turns up. Brooks went to the loo and when he came back I said to him, ‘Brooks you know that really attractive girl who’s over there’ he said ‘yeah’. ‘She’s just asked who the twat with the hat is’ and of course all the players on the next table behind him were laughing.

So, he doesn’t come for a meal with a baseball cap on back to front anymore and that was the start of our relationship. He’s a great guy to work with and I really like him. It’s a pleasure to work with him and see the confidence he’s got.

Have you known other players who have turned around to you en route to a major and said the opposition are going to have to play well to beat me?

No is the simple answer. Most people are very protective of the quality of their play. They always like to say ‘well I’m not far away’, it’s always a cliché. They know they’re playing well but they’re frightened of saying they’re playing well just in case they don’t do as well as they should. You listen to them all the time when they’re being interviewed, ‘it’s not far away, it’s close’.

Is that arrogance or confidence?

Confidence. Pure confidence. Absolutely. Like anybody in any job, if you’re brilliant at your job, you’ll always have confidence when you go out and do your job and do your job really well if you’re brilliant at it. That’s just total confidence in their ability.

Is it unique to him that he’s prepared to say it so openly to you though?

Yes, but I’m sure he would’ve said it to anybody at that particular time because when I watched him play at the Bridgestone, he was playing unbelievably well tee to green. It was like Henrik Stenson when he won The Open, he just had that confidence about him that he was going to do it.

Henrik had that all week at Troon, he just knew. He said it was his time and he knew he was going to win it so without telling everybody that he was going to win, he just had that inner confidence.

Whereas Brooks will say, certainly to me, ‘yep I’m playing great’ but he’ll also tell you when he’s playing badly as well.

Does he see himself as the best golfer in the world going into these big events?

Yes. Simple as that, yes. I don’t think there’s any other way to think. Once he gets to No. 1, I think he’ll create the distance that Dustin created ahead of everybody else. They’ll find it difficult to stay with him.

Brooks Koepka

Is he a more technical player than we might think?

Yes, with the bunker play he had to understand the technique and with his chipping he had to get his technique a lot better. A lot of people say that good chippers are feel players but if you’ve got a poor technique you’re going to struggle. If you practise good technique you get better.

Who ends their career with more major wins: Koepka or DJ?

The fascinating tale behind Koepka’s Mizuno irons

Chase Koepka on being the brother of a four-time major winner

Watch The Tour Championship exclusively live on Sky Sports Golf and see who takes home the PGA Tour’s ultimate prize during the FedExCup Play-offs @PGATour