It could be silly to doubt Brooks Koepka, man of 5 majors, who has repeatedly pocketed slights and used them to gasoline a few of his biggest achievements on the golf course.
But it might even be silly to have a look at him proper now, on this present second because the world-beater he as soon as was. There is one thing amiss. To ignore that will be foolish. So what’s puzzling Koepka as he performs his third PGA Tour occasion since detaching himself from LIV Golf? Broadcasters talked about it through the broadcast of his season debut. It’s that putter. The outdated one.
Koepka’s performance in his first tournament back (at Torrey Pines) confirmed a person with an honest driver and a really stable irons recreation. Around the greens, Koepka was adept at getting up, however not a lot at getting down. The Scotty Cameron blade-type putter he has used all through his profession was so balky in San Diego that he completed lifeless final in Strokes Gained: Putting of all of the gents who made the minimize. For context, he completed 12 strokes behind runner-up Ryo Hisatsune, and 11 pictures behind him with simply the putter.
While the golf world was most likely inclined to chop him some slack, Koepka wasn’t prepared to maneuver ahead with the established order. He confirmed up in Phoenix per week later rocking one thing fully totally different — a mallet-styled flat-stick — and overtly admitted in his press convention that one thing needed to change. “I’ve been putting pretty poorly for the good side of two years,” Koepka stated. “I don’t know what’s going on but I’ve got to figure it out.”
He wasn’t mendacity. Koepka at his greatest was a top-5 putter on this planet. During his major-winning peak, he was constantly above the Tour common, a wholesome baseline that left room for him to win each time the putter received additional scorching for per week.
His instant outcomes with the mallet weren’t a lot better. Koepka missed the minimize in Phoenix the place, as soon as once more, his Strokes Gained outcomes have been effectively under that week’s common. But as he acknowledged Wednesday, perhaps we shouldn’t have anticipated fast outcomes. Koepka estimated he hit about “300 putts” with that mallet — a TaylorMade Spider TourX — earlier than placing it within the bag.
“But having two weeks of being able to get work done and make some adjustments, it should be a lot better,” he stated Wednesday morning in Florida. Getting a brand new putter going, in that sense, sounds a bit like sporting in a brand new pair of footwear. The extra time it’s a must to break them in, the higher they really feel, however at first there’s a studying curve.
“I didn’t know where exactly I was hitting it,” he stated, “and obviously when you change putters, speed becomes another thing. I felt like the speed was slightly off.
“Now I understand exactly where to hit it and where it’s going. I feel like my speed control has gotten better, and just with a few changes, just tidying those things up.”
As we’ve realized in his few tournaments again, Koepka hasn’t wasted phrases in his explanations. As ever, he’d like his recreation to do a lot of the speaking. We’ll be particularly curious to listen to what his putter has to say. We’ll have not less than two extra rounds to hear this week. Maybe even 4.
This week he’ll play close to his house in southern Florida. Barring a top-two end, Koepka received’t qualify for subsequent week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, which implies he’ll have per week off earlier than a loaded schedule resumes. He is presently listed within the area for the Players Championship, the Valspar Championship and the Houston Open.
Plenty of time to heat up his putter earlier than main championship season begins.
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