‘There’s only one person in the world going through this’: Behind the scenes of Brooks Koepka’s return to tourNick Piastowski
certainly he is Saw Like Major Brooks. World batter. He is a fearless professional who swaggers, grins, growls, keeps his feet on the ground and his heart beats. Thanos wearing a polo.
But that wasn’t the case with the person sitting at the podium Tuesday morning. sound He looks a lot like Brooks Koepka.
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that The man said he was nervous, which was probably a word everyone knew and had to look up.
“I think it feels a little different,” he said.
“I’m definitely a little nervous because I just got back this week.”
But on Tuesday, that may have been as expected. he was returnTwo days before Christmas, Koepka and the circuit parted ways, and more than a dozen days later, Koepka and the PGA Tour agreed to a reinstatement deal.
But none of them were playing.
What should I do? that go? Is there any nerve there? birdie? bogie? We began our investigation shortly after 9:30 a.m. local time on Thursday. That was Koepka’s first stroke of the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open, as he teed off on the first hole of the South Course at Torrey Pines.
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Here’s how the rest of the four-time major champion’s round unfolded.
So what did Koepka look like?
He shot a 1-over 73, 11 strokes behind leader Justin Rose. And as you would expect from a 1-over 73, some were good and some were not so good.
What’s good about it? The first shot of the round hit the fairway, and the second shot landed 10 feet out. On No. 5, Koepka chipped an inch from the thick rough left of the green. On the 10th, he came up short on the par-4 second shot, but threw it to 6 feet for par. On the 18th, he missed the green on his second shot and after the green sloped beyond the hole toward the water, he chipped it to 7 feet en route to his only birdie of the round.
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But there was a problem. I put my tee shot into a fairway bunker, made 3 putts, and made 4 bogeys. On the par-5 13th, he took four shots from 43 yards and made bogey. He hit only 6 of 14 fairways off the tee, and averaged two putts within regulation on the greens.
The round was fair. A 73 on the more difficult South Course didn’t hurt his chances, but he will need a lower number on Friday’s North Course to survive the weekend. It’s also worth noting that Thursday’s round was the first since October 4 of last year.
Any funny moments?
The following moments were great.
There was an interesting exchange on the first tee as well. There, Koepka was greeted by Tony Perez, the event’s longtime first-tee announcer, and the father of Pat Perez, who is also returning from LIV Golf to the PGA Tour.
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What did TV analysts say about Koepka?
They spoke positively.
“I think he found a little bit of a rhythm towards the end of the round,” said Nota Begay of the Golf Channel. “He had some great tee shots on the 17th and 18th and a great approach on the 16th. Overall, he should be pretty happy.”
Kurt Byram of Golf Channel said, “I don’t think it was that far today. I feel like he made a couple of putts early on the front nine. He missed two short putts for birdie on the front side. I feel like he’s swinging pretty well, but not that far kind of thing. I wouldn’t be surprised if he hits a good round tomorrow at North. The question will be whether it’s enough to make the cut and play all four.” day to day. ”
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What are fans saying about Koepka?
They were also positive, Koepka said. Afterwards, he also said he didn’t know what he would hear.
“I don’t like thinking ahead or trying to predict what’s going to happen at all,” Koepka said. “But I wasn’t sure. It’s kind of weird to be anxious and you don’t really know.
“It was great from the first tee shot. I actually settled in a little bit. Like I said, it felt good just to be out here. We had a good group with Max[Homa]and Ludwig[Aberg]and it was fun. The whole day was great.”
When was the last time I cared as much about other people’s opinions as I did this week?
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“I don’t know, it’s tough,” he said.
“It’s very hard to explain because I’m the only person in the world going through this situation. But I’m enjoying it, I’m really enjoying it.”
What did Mr. Koepka say afterward?
Koepka talked about his play, saying he was happy with the way he hit the ball, but missed the driver. He also said he didn’t make any putts other than the 18th.
He said nerves affected him during the round. but why? After all, he’s been a pro for a while. He won a big victory. As mentioned at the beginning of this report, he Brooks Koepka.
“Just because I care,” Koepka said. “I think I’ve fallen in love with this game all over again, and to be honest, I’d love to see my son play a little bit and watch him watch me. Or maybe I’d like my son to see me play well and realize how much this game has given me, how much fun it is, how cool it is to be here.”
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Have you fallen in love again? Has he fallen out of love with the game?
“I’m not hooked, but I think I’ll fall in love with it even more,” he said.
“I mean, I think Ricky said, (Ricky Elliott, caddy) hasn’t played competitively for 14 weeks, so there’s a lot of time off, a lot of time to think, a lot of time to reflect. If you sit on the couch and do that for a while, you can dig pretty deep into what you’re feeling. I’m just excited.”
On Tuesday, Koepka seemed calmer and more thoughtful than usual, and that continued Thursday.
What did his scorecard look like?
Koepka played the South Course at Torrey Pines. The first two rounds are split between the North and South courses at Torrey Pines. Here’s his scorecard:
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1st, 453 yards par 4:
Shot 1: 301 yards to right side of fairway, 148 yards to hole.
Shot 2: 150 yards to the right side of the green, 10 feet 4 inches to the hole.
Shot 3: 11 feet 8 inches 14 inches putt to the hole.
Shot 4: Inside the hole
2nd, 392 yards par 4:
Shot 1: 311 yards to right rough, 83 yards to hole.
Shot 2: 68 yards to left side of green, 43 feet, 1 inch to hole.
Shot 3: 43 feet, 10 inches, 17 inches to the hole.
Shot 4: Inside the hole
3rd, 166 yards par 3:
Shot 1: 160 yards to right side of green, 30 feet 6 inches to hole.
Shot 2: 34 feet, 2 inches, 3 feet, 5 inches to the hole.
Shot 3: Inside the hole
4th, 491 yards par 4 (bogey):
Shot 1: 290 yards to the right bunker, 204 yards to the hole.
Shot 2: 189 yards to the right side of the green, 52 feet, 1 inch to the hole.
Shot 3: 42 feet 9 inches to the hole, 9 feet 4 inches putt.
Shot 4: 11 feet 11 inches to the hole, 2 feet 2 inches putt.
Shot 5: Inside the hole
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5th, 461 yards par 4:
Shot 1: 307 yards to left bunker, 162 yards to hole
Shot 2: 164 yards to left rough, 23 feet, 1 inch to hole.
Shot 3: 22 feet, 11 inches to right side of green, 1 inch to hole.
Shot 4: Inside the hole
6th, 541 yards par 5:
Shot 1: 308 yards to left side of fairway, 239 yards to hole.
Shot 2: 243 yards to left bunker, 52 feet 2 inches to hole
Shot 3: 69 feet 9 inches to right center, 17 feet 8 inches to the hole.
Shot 4: 20 feet 1 inch to right side of green, 2 feet 1 inch to hole.
Shot 5: Inside the hole
7th, 461 yards par 4:
Shot 1: 299 yards to right side of fairway, 159 yards to hole.
Shot 2: 155 yards to the right side of the green, 27 feet, 1 inch to the hole.
Shot 3: 27 feet, 9 inches, 10 inches putt to the hole.
Shot 4: Inside the hole
8th, 180 yards par 3:
Shot 1: 181 yards to right side of green, 22 feet 7 inches to hole.
Shot 2: 21 feet 4 inches 16 inches putt to the hole.
Shot 3: Inside the hole
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9th, 615 yards par 5:
Shot 1: 295 yards to right rough, 315 yards to hole.
Shot 2: 162 yards to the right side of the fairway, 154 yards to the hole
Shot 3: 157 yards to right side of green, 9 feet 6 inches to hole.
Shot 4: 11 feet 4 inches 17 inches putt to the hole.
Shot 5: Inside the hole
Front nine: 1 over 37
10th, 460 yards par 4:
Shot 1: 300 yards to right rough, 164 yards to hole.
Shot 2: 131 yards to right rough, 34 yards to hole.
Shot 3: 94 feet 10 inches to left side of green, 6 feet 10 inches to hole.
Shot 4: Inside the hole
11th, 231 yards par 3:
Shot 1: 226 yards to right side of green, 28 feet 6 inches to hole.
Shot 2: 31 feet, 8 inches, 2 feet, 10 inches to the hole.
Shot 3: Inside the hole
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12th, 492 yards par 4:
Shot 1: 312 yards to left side of fairway, 181 yards to hole
Shot 2: 184 yards to right side of green, 17 feet 7 inches to hole.
Shot 3: 19 feet 8 inches 21 inches putt to the hole.
Shot 4: Inside the hole
13th, 600 yards par 5 (bogey):
Shot 1: 315 yards to left rough, 275 yards to hole.
Shot 2: 236 yards to left side of fairway, 43 yards to hole
Shot 3: 55 yards to left rough, 36 feet 5 inches to hole.
Shot 4: 27′ 0″ to left side of green, 9′ 5″ to hole.
Shot 5: 10-foot, 10-inch, 18-inch putt to the hole.
Shot 6: Inside the hole
14th, 440 yards par 4:
Shot 1: 305 yards to right rough, 144 yards to hole.
Shot 2: 117 yards to the right side of the fairway, 88 feet, 2 inches to the hole.
Shot 3: 93 feet 10 inches to the right side of the green, 5 feet 6 inches to the hole.
Shot 4: Inside the hole
15th, 477 yards par 4:
Shot 1: 313 yards to left side of rough, 168 yards to hole.
Shot 2: 168 yards to left side of green, 16 feet 0 inches to hole.
Shot 3: 18 feet 7 inches to the hole, 2 feet 4 inches putt.
Shot 4: Inside the hole
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16th, 227 yards par 3:
Shot 1: 222 yards to left side of green, 22 feet 4 inches to hole.
Shot 2: 25 feet 5 inches to the hole, 2 feet 8 inches putt.
Shot 3: Inside the hole
17th, 443 yards par 4:
Shot 1: 311 yards to the right side of the fairway, 132 yards to the hole.
Shot 2: 124 yards to right side of green, 26 feet 6 inches to hole.
Shot 3: 28’3” 21” putt to hole.
Shot 4: Inside the hole
18th, 570 yards par 5 (birdie):
Shot 1: 298 yards to left side of fairway, 263 yards to hole
Shot 2: 285 yards to right rough, 69 feet, 5 inches to hole.
Shot 3: 61 feet 9 inches to left side of green, 7 feet 10 inches to hole.
Shot 4: Inside the hole
Back nine: up to even number 36
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total: 1 over 73
What about Koepka’s other stats?
We’ll take a look at them below.
Strokes gained off the tee: 0.172, 36th
Stroke Gained Approach to Green: 0.578, 29th
Strokes gained around the green: 0.199 33rd
Putting stroke gained: -1.469 60th place
Total strokes gained: -0.520 tied for 37th place
Driving accuracy: 42.86% (6/14), tied for 91st place
Driving distance: 292.40 yards, tied for 122nd place
Longest drive: 315.00 yards, tied for 90th
Green Regulation: 72.22 percent (13/18), tied for 48th
Scrambling: 80.00 percent (4/5), tied for 26th
Number of putts per green: 2.00, tied for 136th place
Putts in feet: 46 feet, 11 inches, 66th
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When will Koepka play on Friday?
Koepka and playing partners Aberg and Homa will begin play on the North Course at Torrey Pines on Friday at 1:38 p.m. ET.
What’s the TV coverage like on Friday?
Telecasts begin at noon on ESPN and move to Golf Channel at 3 p.m.
Was Mr. Koepka thinking about Patrick Reed?
He did. On Wednesday, Reed also announced he was leaving LIV, and the PGA Tour announced he would be eligible to play in tour events starting Aug. 25.
Koepka said he was told the news by putting coach Jeff Pearce during a practice round Wednesday.
“He stopped for a second in the fairway and asked if I had seen it,” Koepka said. “No, I couldn’t see anything because I was on the golf course and my phone was in my bag.
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“Yeah, that’s wild. Whatever Patrick wants to do, he wants to be the best golfer he can be for his family, I fully support that. I think everyone’s different and you have to decide what’s best for your family. If that’s what he’s doing, whatever he needs to do, I support him 100 percent.”
‘There’s only one person in the world going through this’: Inside Brooks Koepka’s return to tour appeared first on Golf.
