Brooks Koepka told us that he hit the ball well.
At last week’s PGA Championship he did.
“Everything feels good. I like the way I’m hitting it.”
Two weeks ago at the One Flight Myrtle Beach Classic, he said much the same thing.
“I feel like I’m hitting it as well as I ever have, driving it as well as I ever have.”
Last month at the Masters, he said something similar.
“I feel like I’m hitting it exactly how I wanted to.”
In late March at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, Koepka repeated himself.
“I feel like I played really well.”
And in March at the Valspar Championship, Koepka, you guessed it, said he felt like he was hitting the ball well.
“Playing well, like the way I’m hitting it.”
that all of them said, there are several ways to look at it Koepka here. In his first year back on the PGA Tour after playing for four seasons with LIV Golf, he is doing well. If he felt confused by the flashback, it is mostly not shown. But there is also an opinion about what can to be. Because as much as he has swung, so has his pitcher. He’s been good, if not great, in all the stats he’s earned—eighth on the green; 41 from the tee; third on approach green; 48th in the green circle – except for putting, where he was ranked a dismal 141st entering this week. What if it could bring everything together? What would that look like?
Maybe something like Thursday.
Just look at Koepka during Thursday’s first round CJ Cup Byron Nelson event. On the 11th hole in TPC Craig Ranchhis second hole of the day after starting on the back nine, he holed a 17-footer for birdie, then sank a 13-footer for eagle on the 12th hole, then a 10-footer for birdie on the second hole, then a 14-footer for birdie and a 4-foot 63, and only Taylor Moore was better. It was Koepka’s best score of the year and his best score on the PGA Tour since July 30, 2020, when he shot a 62 at FedEx St. Jewish Invitational. (On August 18, 2024, Koepka shot a 63 at LIV Golf’s Greenbrier event.)
Few in Byron Nelson were better with the greens. Koepka was 10th in strokes gained: putting after the first round and a one-day session earlier this week inside “a little warehouse” at his Florida home seems to have worked. Inside the warehouse is a recording studio, and Koepka locked himself inside, leaving only to pick up his son, Crew, from school.
“So I was out there for a long time working on some different things, trying some different tools,” Koepka said Wednesday. “Just going back to the basics, I think that’s a big thing, trying to make sure you’re in line, your control is accurate, your shooter is going where you think it’s going.
“Just a few different things.”
He also came up with a new shooter. At the Byron Nelson, Koepka is using a Scotty Cameron Fastback 1.5, which, notably, is the fourth putter he’s used this year.
“It’s something that feels good in my hands,” Koepka said. “I feel like I’ve struggled a little bit with the toe-off, fighting it, holding it, and this putter seems to have a little more toe-hang, to kind of get scientific with it or more in-depth. It’s a little more toe-hang than I’ve been using all year, kind of like the front blade (front percentage) is closer to the face, which is kind of what I’m looking for.
“So hopefully I can find some confidence with him and build some momentum off of him.”
Of course, Koepka has only played 18 holes this week. Three rounds to go. Bigger tours follow, including a pair of majors. Putting is the most volatile of pursuits. What fell into the hole today may come out tomorrow.
But for one day, Koepka could say he was hitting and doing well.
“Finally, I felt good with the putter,” Koepka said. “I felt good the last few days with him when I was working in my studio. Then when I got here, I felt very comfortable. Rick (caddie Ricky Elliott) said the same thing from watching. Which also helps build a little confidence, what he feels versus the reality of it.
“Just happy with how everything went today.”
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