Koepka looms large ahead of PGA defense
While Scheffler cools his heels in daddy watch, LIV's best heats up at the right time; Jack, 84, takes a few whacks at Augusta
Look who’s trending up just in time for the PGA Championship — Brooks Koepka. The serial repeat defender of major titles is on form after winning for the first time this season at LIV Golf’s event in Singapore. Can last year’s PGA champion at Oak Hill defend a major title for the third time next week at Valhalla? Koepka won back-to-back at the U.S. Open (2017-18) and PGA (2018-19) for his first four major trophies. How does he do it? “I think the big thing that kind of separates me is my ability to lock in and go someplace where I think a lot of guys can’t go,” he said in Singapore.
The reigning champ’s presumptive biggest challenger next week will be world No. 1 and reigning Masters champ Scottie Scheffler, whose torrid play of late might have cooled off with a three-week break as he and his wife, Meredith, expect to welcome their first child into the world before PGA week. The Daily Drive looks forward to a potential horse race in Louisville, Kentucky.
Brooks Koepka and his boy, Crew, celebrate daddy’s fourth LIV win in Singapore (Lionel Ng/Getty Images)
‘I like the way things are trending’
Brooks Koepka is not one to to sweat the small stuff. And judging by his career arc, he would undoubtedly consider LIV Singapore to fit into that category.
But Koepka didn’t treat his weekend in Singapore as one that didn’t matter. The five-time major champion was still smarting from his performance at the Masters and decided to do something about it.
“There’s a lot of people that put time and effort into making sure that I play good. I think Augusta was a good wake-up call. I’ve had to really grind since then,” he said.
He got with his coach, Claude Harmon III, and went to work. And despite expressing concern about his game prior to the tournament, Koepka dug down, shot a second-round 64 to take the lead, then did what was necessary to never relinquish it on Sunday, beating Cam Smith and Marc Leishman by two strokes.
Perhaps more importantly, it put Koepka in a far better place as the PGA Championship looms in a week. A big-game player, Koepka typically doesn’t worry too much about results at the minors.
“I feel good,” Koepka said. “I feel a lot better than I did last week. It was rounding the corner for me. … I felt like the results weren’t there. It was improving but the results weren’t there. It’s nice to see some results and the hard work paying off.”
Famously, for all of his Koepka’s major championship success, he won just four regular events on the PGA Tour and now four on LIV Golf.
After a 77-77 weekend at Doral preceded a disappointing tie for 45th at Augusta National, Koepka found a little something to build on in Australia before becoming the first player to win four times as part of LIV Golf.
“Yeah, it’s all starting to come around,” Koepka said after a 3-under 68 that saw him never yield the final-round lead. “I’ve put in a lot of work. I feel like on the golf course, off the golf course, it’s been a good two weeks, to say the least. Take a week off and then grinding pretty hard with Claude (Harmon) over the last few days, I thought that was very important. Kind of started to see it turn maybe Wednesday, Thursday of Adelaide, so to see it pay off here is huge.
It was far different than prior to the tournament, when Koepka was asked about the state of his game.
“Clearly not very good,’’ Koepka said. “With Augusta the way that it went, I kind of felt like I wasted all the time from December until then. Just keep grinding away, keep doing the work, and hopefully something will turn around.’’
Koepka was referring to never really being in the Masters tournament after tying for second last year behind winner Jon Rahm. He opened with a 73 and added rounds of 73, 76 and 75. That came after those high weekend rounds in Miami.
He admitted that for about a month he wasn’t sure if the ball was going to fade or draw and was struggling to see the ball come out of the correct window.
Koepka mostly lamented his putting which prompted a putter switch a few weeks back. Although he tied for 19th in the putting stats at Augusta National, he believes that’s been had been the main source of his trouble, causing him to switch to a mallet putter recently.
“It’s been in the bag two weeks before Augusta, I haven’t even putted with that other putter, the one I’ve putted with for — the button back I’ve probably putted with for 12, 14 years, I haven’t putted with it since then.
“I can’t find the hole at all, to be honest with you. Something we’ve just been putting some work into, so trying to find some answers.’’
Asked what the main issue was, Koepka said: “Ball doesn’t go in the hole, that’s usually one of them. I don’t know how else to simply put it. I feel like I’m hitting good putts, they just keep burning lips. Eventually it starts to wear on you after a while. All you can do is hit a good putt and see where it goes from there. Hopefully they start falling soon.’’
They did in Singapore. And it came at an important time.
Koepka won his third PGA Championship last year at Oak Hill in Rochester, New York, his fifth career major championship. In each of his first four major victories, he won back-to-back at the 2017 and ’18 U.S. Opens and the 2018 and ’19 PGAs.
Can he do it again?
“I hope so,’’ he said. “I like the way things are trending. We just need to go back this week … well, next week, and make sure everything is kinda going, do the right stuff and go from there. … Go do my normal routine, work out and play golf and relax.”
Koepka had a total of 15-under par at Sentosa Golf Club as he posted his first victory of 2024 after winning twice last year and once in LIV’s inaugural 2002 season. A week earlier in Adelaide, South Australia, Koepka finished T9, his first top 10 since finishing tied fifth in the season-opener in Mexico in February.
He had a three-stroke lead after a second-round 64 and was never tied on Sunday, although a couple of pursuers got within a stroke, including Leishman, who bogeyed his final hole to allow Koepka to finish with a par at his last.
“I felt the heat, but it was mainly because of how hot it was,” said Koepka, whose lone three-putt bogey at No. 9 was amended with birdies at 10 and 15. “Yeah, just played very consistent, missed it in the right spots. When you’re playing with a lead you do that. You don’t have to force anything. When you do get some wedges, try to take advantage of it.”
Now Koepka has some time to regroup and get ready for the PGA at Valhalla, where as a virtual unknown he tied for 15th in 2014, the last time it was played there.
“Ball-striking is finally starting to come around,” Koepka said on Saturday. “The putter is heating up a little bit. I think that’s just due to seeing some better golf shots. Just kind of finding my own little swagger.”
Ex-LIV Piot hits dirt pay
It’s easy to focus on Koepka winning $4 million with his win at LIV Golf Singapore, but there are the others who aren’t so lucky.
On April 23, James Piot, the 2021 U.S. Amateur champion, collected a grand total of $3,061.58 for winning a Minor League Golf Tour event at The Florida Club in Stuart, Florida.
Piot, 25, recorded his first ever professional win with a bogey-free final round 64, winning by five shots.
For the past two years, Piot has been playing on LIV, for Niblick GC in 2022 and HyFlyers GC in 2023.
During those two years, Piot earned $3,677,333 before losing his LIV status and having to find other places to play.
The win in Florida included $2,500 for winning, $128.58 in skins and $433.00 for the B-Pool. That adds up to 0.08 percent of what he made with LIV.
That’s a pretty big comedown from the smallest check on LIV — $50,000 for finishing dead last.
If you add in a small signing bonus and team money for the two years, Piot would have made millions more, but now he is likely driving around in a decent size car or truck in search of a place to play.
It’s not all wine and roses when a player makes the decision to jump to LIV.
Jack Nicklaus didn’t shoot his age at Augusta National. (Chris Turvey/ANGC)
The ‘old’ Master conquers Augusta?
He’s not going to view it that way, but we will.
Jack Nicklaus doesn’t play much golf anymore. The 18-time major winner who won the Masters six times laments his short shots and high scores. On more than one occasion, he’s quipped that the average player who so often says to him that he wishes he could play like Jack Nicklaus: “Now you can.’’
Nicklaus disclosed during a media session last week to promote the Memorial Tournament that he played Augusta National three times after Scottie Scheffler’s victory.
A long-time Augusta National member, Nicklaus said it was among the only rounds of golf he played all year. He played from the member’s tees, of course.
“I shot 88, 90 and 91. That’s a 269 for three rounds, which is a pretty good four-round score,” Nicklaus said. “That’s what I play anymore. They don’t have any forward tees at Augusta. I can’t play 6,400 yards. I hit the ball 190 yards anymore, if I kill it. I played once last year, once the year before, and I’ve played four times this year already.”
Nicklaus, 84, of course, was being a bit hard on himself. He long ago stopped playing tournament golf, having competed in his last major championship at the 2005 Open at St. Andrews, when he was 65. That same year, he played his last Masters.