Brooks Koepka thought he could get ahead of the hosts in a recent podcast, so he said what he assumed they were thinking.
The Jupiter resident, who had a four shot lead at the Masters with only 30 holes remaining, said: “I choked.”
This week, he was asked if he really believes that this is the best way to describe his disappointing Sunday in Augusta.
He replied, “Theoretically yes.” “It’s choking right?” Choking is when you cough up lead.
How did Koepka describe his 2-over-72 Thursday opening round at the PGA Championships?
Koepka said, “That was my worst shot in a long time.” He headed to the Oak Hill Country Club’s driving range after only hitting six fairways and seven greens.
If Koepka has his majors mojo, as many people believe, he will have some work to complete during the second round on Friday.
Koepka is certainly not out after 18 holes. This is especially true on a course many have rated as one of the most difficult for a PGA Championship. It was hard to find red numbers on Thursday.
Just going to figure it out, I’ll just work on it. “I doubt it will happen tomorrow,” said he about another poor performance. “Go figure it out, and see where I end up.”
This is the Koepka that we remember, the confident one who believes he can bounce back from a bad day, or even dominate at the highest stakes, like he did during a three-year period in which he took four majors.
Koepka’s night of restlessness after Masters defeat
This is why the performance at the Masters on the final night resulted in an anxious night and several days. Koepka claimed he did not sleep that night, trying to figure out why things went wrong. He then spent the following days thinking about it.
He said, “Never let it happen again.” “That’s what we want, right?” You don’t want to dwell on the past. It’s not fun to be second but as long as it is something you can learn from, you will be fine.
Koepka’s day job was LIV Golf after the Masters. Between the first two majors of the season, Koepka played only one tournament, where he finished fifth at LIV’s Tulsa event.
Koepka is only judged in the majors these days and he hoped to take the momentum from his runner-up at Augusta with him into the PGA Championship.
Each LIV golfer that plays in a major tournament has something to prove. Even Koepka despite his four major championships.
Everyone had a cold start on Thursday to the first round.
The first round of the tournament on Thursday was delayed by two hours because temperatures in Rochester dropped to the mid-20s overnight and the course was covered with frost when the sun rose. Koepka and his group, which included Scottie Scheffler, Gary Woodland, and himself, teed off at a temperature of nearly 40 degrees.
Even though Koepka claimed he hit the ball badly, he had a par score after nine holes with the help from a chip in at No. 22. 11. If you had a little more luck on the putter, your score would have been higher.
The back nine was all scrambling, to ensure he didn’t fall any further down the leaderboard.
He said, “I missed a few putts in the beginning but scrambled well late.” “Probably could’ve shot even. “I just didn’t feel like it.”
Koepka was asked many questions during the Masters about his health, confidence and mentality towards majors. Many believe that for the first two years, we may see Koepka on the biggest stage, the golfer who was feared for three years.
“I feel great. “I feel great. Swinging the way I like. “I want to move the way I like,” he had said at the beginning of the week, before the Thursday hiccup.
Then, from there on, it is just a matter of game-planning. I think I did a great job this offseason in terms of being able do all I needed to do to make my knee stronger and more flexible.
On Wednesday, he answered the question of what he would need to do in order to compete on Sunday.
He said, “Discipline.” It’s a grind. It’s always tough to play in a major. The golf course is always going to be tough. You have to plan your route, know where you can miss the ball and where you shouldn’t miss it. “It’s all about discipline.”
If you have a bad start, Round 2 is the time to get back on track.
