Koepka was also tied for fourth in the US Open in 2014 - albeit 10 shots behind runaway victor Martin Kaymer - and shot 71 at Erin Hills in the 2011 US Amateur, although he failed to reach the matchplay stages.
Harman led by one stroke going into the final round but took back-to-back bogeys from the 12th and finished with another bogey at 18 as he shot 72.
Koepka's 16-under-par total equalled the record for the lowest winning under par total at a US Open set by Rory McIlroy at the 2011 championship.
"I'd love to get a map and just look at all the places I've won", Koepka said. "I didn't exactly get my dad a card, so this works". Koepka simply couldn't miss. But it was an important 120 seconds. Parity is not just a National Football League thing.
With athleticism and power, and four straight putts over the back nine that allowed him to pull away, Koepka capped off his hardscrabble journey around the world and found stardom at home as the U.S. Open champion.
Koepka, whose caddie Ricky Elliott is from Portrush in Northern Ireland, becomes the seventh first-time major victor in succession, a run stretching back to Jason Day's victory in the 2015 US PGA Championship. And he banked $2.16 million. "I played two good rounds, but it wasn't enough". "I put myself in contention so many times, but I never quite came through". And I was pretty far off.
A three-putt bogey from Harman on the 13th left clubhouse leader Matsuyama as Koepka's nearest challenger, but the American promptly got up and down from a bunker on the 14th and holed from 12 feet for another birdie on the next. Matsuyama came storming home with a 66, the lowest round of the day. "I don't believe in moral victories. And then the reception and all of the support I got all week long was unbelievable".
"It made me feel a lot better seeing Brooks shoot 5 under", Thomas said. But I think what was underestimated was how well he knew me, how well he knew my game. Charley Hoffman (71) finished solo eighth at 9 under.
Brooks Koepka has won the U.S. Open title for his first major championship. "Exhausted of traveling. I just wanted to be home", he said. "He's so unflappable, he could nearly do with a little bit of a kick in the ass because sometimes it's like, 'Are you awake yet?' But despite his mean face he's as calm as it gets".
Bummer buddies: Roomies Fowler, Thomas fizzle at US Open
Brooks Koepka had a birdie putt on every hole and made three of them to build a one-shot lead after nine holes Sunday in the U.S. Following Koepka in second place was Hideki Matsuyama of Japan and Brian Harman of the United States at 12-under.
"I just tried to stay away from it but it was hard to. And I just couldn't stand the fact I'd only won once".
As for the field of play, the early pairings in the final round had to be tweaked with some golfers already on the course.
Koepka wasn't alone in clobbering Erin Hills. And then end requiring plenty of informational backfill explaining how someone just won his first title that was not named after a bank, an insurer, a vehicle or a trash collector.
On the last day of the U.S. Open, Hideki Matsuyama was better than everyone else. In the first round, 44 players broke par, a tournament record for the opening session. The American's accountant was the day's second-biggest victor. He just hoped that he would have enough to hang in there and become a major champion.
Thomas, looking for more from where his record-setting 63 came from the day before, was out of the hunt by the middle of the front nine. Everyone giving me a piece of advice, stick to what I've done, that's what I did today.
"That's probably the most emotion I've ever shown coming down the stretch", Koepka said.
Koepka prior to today labeled himself as an underachiever. It means I have a lot better chance to win the tournament than I did when the day started. I felt like I've underachieved.
His play this past fall in the Ryder Cup when the USA whipped Europe, where he said he had never felt more pressure, helped him immensely.
"[I was] just staying one shot at a time".
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