Brooks Koepka makes the best score this year, after a day in the ‘shop’
Brooks Koepka has been telling us that he was hitting the ball well.
At last week’s PGA Championship he did.
“Everything is going well. I like the way I’m hitting.”
Two weeks ago at the One Flight Myrtle Beach Classic, he said the same thing.
“I feel like I’m hitting it as good as I’ve ever done, driving it as well as I’ve ever done.”
Last month at the Masters, he said the same thing.
“I feel like I hit it the way I wanted to.”
In late March at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, Koepka repeated himself.
“I feel like I’ve been playing really well.”
And in March at the Valspar Championship, Koepka, you guessed it, said he felt he was hitting the ball well.
“It plays well, the way I hit it.”
That everything That said, there are a few ways to look at Koepka here. In his first year back on the PGA Tour after four seasons with LIV Golf, he is swinging well. If he feels disturbed by the setback, it is yet to be seen. But there is also the thought of what he can be. Because since he has been skating, his guardian has disappointed him. He was good, if not great, in every stroke gained in the stats – eight from the tee to the green; 41 from the tee; third on the approach green; He is 48th on the green – out of putting, where he is ranked 141st entering this week. What if he can put everything together? How would that be?
Maybe something like Thursday.
Just look at Koepka in Thursday’s first round of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson event. On the 11th hole at TPC Craig Ranch, his second hole of the day after starting on the back nine, he bogeyed the 17th for birdie, then sank a 13-footer for eagle on the 12th hole, then a 10-footer for birdie on the 2nd hole, then Koepleed’s 4-footer and 14-footer. eight-under 63, and only Taylor Moore was better. It was Koepka’s best score this year, and his best score on the PGA Tour since July 30, 2020, when he shot a 62 at the FedEx St. Jude Invitational. (On August 18, 2024, Koepka shot a 63 at LIV Golf’s Greenbrier event.)
Few at Byron Nelson were better at vegetables. Koepka was 10th in strokes gained: putting after the first round, and an all-day session earlier this week inside the “small house” at his house in Florida seems to have worked. Inside the warehouse is a recording studio, and Koepka locked himself in, leaving only to pick up his son, Crew, from school.
“So I’ve been out there a long time working on different things, trying different putters,” Koepka said Wednesday. “Just going back to the basics, I think is a big thing, trying to make sure you line up, your grip is right, your putter is going where you think it’s going.
“Just the little things that are different.”
He also showed up with a new putter. At Byron Nelson, Koepka uses the Scotty Cameron Fastback 1.5, which, in fact, is the fourth putter he has used this year.
“It’s just something that feels good in my hands,” Koepka said. “I feel like I’ve struggled with getting the toe off a little bit, kind of fighting that, kind of holding it, and this putter seems to have a little bit of hang in the toe, so I can get kind of scientific with it or more in depth on it. It’s got a lot more hang in the toe than I’ve been using all year, kind of like a blade. I know CG. [center of gravity] it’s up near the front of the face, which is kind of what I’m looking for.
“So hopefully I can gain confidence from it and build momentum from it.”
Of course, Koepka played only 18 holes this week. Three rounds ahead. Major tournaments follow that, including two majors. Positioning is a flexible activity. What fell into the ditch today may come out of the mouth tomorrow.
But one day, Koepka seemed to hit AND putt well.
“Finally, I felt good with the putter,” Koepka said. “I felt good about it a few days ago when I was working in my studio. Then when I got here, I felt very comfortable. Rick [caddie Ricky Elliott] he said the same while watching. Which also helps to build a little confidence, what you feel versus your reality.
“I’m happy with how everything went today.”
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