(Los Angeles) Brooks Koepka is at the site of a major tournament and he feels as good as ever. His health. His track record. His mood.
Especially his mood.
Koepka has avoided all the distractions surrounding the deal between the PGA and the Saudi fund that funds the LIV Tour, turning enemies into friends. He said he was having lunch in Florida when he heard the news. He then went to train for the US Open.
“There are four weeks a year that I really care about, and this is one of them,” he said. I want to play well. »
But when he finished his press conference on Tuesday, he left the stage, smiling broadly and saying, jokingly, “See you at Travelers.”
He was talking about the Travelers Championship, a PGA tournament presented next week from which members of the LIV Tour are excluded.
Rarely has such important news been so little commented on, when all the elite of the golf world are gathered at the Los Angeles Country Club in anticipation of the United States Open this weekend.
And that doesn’t bother Koepka.
Koepka is more interested in major titles, and nobody seems to raise his level of play like him in these tournaments.
He was leading after three rounds at the Masters until Jon Rahm overtook him, and he won the PGA Championship at Oak Hill, his fifth major title of his career. This is his favorite victory, as he had to overcome a knee injury that could have threatened his career.
Koepka said if he had been healthy, it might have been more difficult for him to make the decision to join the LIV circuit last year.
But he is happy no matter where he plays and the game format. And he is especially focused on major tournaments, in which he always has the right to participate.
In addition to his five wins, Koepka has four major runner-up finishes; he finished 18 times in the top 10 to his last 30 majors.
He’s spent the last two days on the North Course at the Los Angeles Country Club, getting familiar with the front nine on Monday and then the back nine on Tuesday. He will play another nine holes on the final day of practice, Wednesday.
And it’s not all the talk about the future of the PGA and the LIV Tour that will bother him.
The more chaotic things are, the easier it is for me. It’s like everything is slowing down and I’m able to focus better on my goals.
Brooks Koepka
Health is also part of Koepka’s recipe for success.
Last year, when his left knee wasn’t yet 100%, he finished tied at 55e rank at two major tournaments and failed to meet the qualifying threshold for the weekend rounds at the other two. It was during this period that he wondered if he could ever compete with the best in the world again.
Then, the LIV circuit took out the checkbook. Koepka was able to take advantage of a full off-season to heal his knee and regain good feelings.
And he was able to reclaim his “Big Game Brooks” nickname this season.