Brooks Koepka leaves PGA Championship wondering what could've been after ugly Saturday
19/05/2024 21:40
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Brooks Koepka is thinking about at what could have been at the 2024 PGA Championship, if not for Saturday.
Koepka played three of the four rounds at 12-under. But a 3-over 74 Saturday, that was a lot uglier until he closed with two birdies, took him out of contention for his sixth major championship.
The LIV golfer finished at 9-under 275 with rounds of 67-68-74-66. He was one of 11 of the 16 LIV golfers to make the cut.
“(Saturday) I don’t think I did one thing good at all,” Koepka said after his round of six birdies and one bogey Sunday. “Usually when you play bad you got one thing you do OK. You might putt bad. You might drive it bad. Yesterday was a combination of everything.”
Which is why Koepka was not in a pleasant mood even after his 66. When asked to assess his week he said, “Not very good. That’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?”
And when asked the difference in his game from those struggles Saturday to his recovering Sunday, he said, “I don’t know, about eight shots.”
Brooks Koepka and his caddie walk the 17th fairway to his ball during the final round of the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club. (Photo: Clare Grant/Louisville Courier Journal)
Maybe this will help:
In strokes gained: off the tee, Koepka went from 66th Saturday to fourth at the time he finished Sunday.
In strokes gained: putting, he finished 68th Saturday to ninth at the time he finished Sunday.
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“I feel like I’m playing good,” Koepka said. “(Saturday) was just kind of unfortunate timing, I missed a bunch of putts Friday from inside 5 feet. Other than that I feel like I’d be pretty close to right there.”
Koepka spoke about his team assigning him “punishment workouts” after a poor showing at the Masters. He described them as a lot more running, very up-tempo, no rest.
“It sucks,” he said.
With the U.S. Open coming up in a month, Koepka expects his team will not be easy on him between now and the time he arrives at Pinehurst, despite moving up the scoreboard Sunday.
And Koepka, who said he will do whatever his team asks, is ready to go to work.
