PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka will make his fourth PGA Tour start of the season in the Players this week, but it will be the first time he’ll compete against nearly all of the circuit’s top stars.
Relegated to playing in non-signature events as part of the PGA Tour’s Returning Member Program, the former LIV Golf League captain has been forced to watch limited-field tournaments like last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.
“I mean, you would like to be there last week, but I understand those are the consequences of my decisions,” Koepka said Tuesday at TPC Sawgrass. “I’m a big boy, I understand that. So, I got to sit at home and watch, and the answer to everything is play good golf and everything will take care of itself.”
Since returning to the PGA Tour on Jan. 12, Koepka’s results have been a mixed bag. He tied for 56th at 4 under in his first tournament in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines outside San Diego on Jan. 29, then missed the cut the next week after carding a 76-69 in the WM Phoenix Open.
Koepka, 35, said he felt like he made a breakthrough, albeit against a weaker field, in the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches on March 1. He posted a 6-under 65 in the final round, after switching from a blade putter to a Spider model that week.
“I think the first week was just trying to get that out of the way,” Koepka said. “Then the second week, I felt like it was very disappointing. Made a few changes [with a] new putter, just working on a few different mechanical things in the putting. [I] felt like it started to click, I guess.”
While being sidelined from the API, Koepka played in the Seminole Pro-Member at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida. He went to Orlando, Florida, later in the week to continue working on putting with his caddie, Ricky Elliott.
“I think with that change there’s been a lot of mechanical changes as well,” Koepka said of the putter switch. “I would say it’s definitely that the mechanical issues are the tougher parts of it. But I mean, if you look at it, the face rotation on the Spider is a little less than it was with the blade. Just looking for a little bit more consistency.”
Koepka said he appreciates the reception from fans and other PGA Tour players since his return.
“I didn’t know what to expect, but the fans have been great,” he said. “I’m still getting ‘welcome back’ as of yesterday, so I mean, it’s a good feeling. It feels good to be back. I’m enjoying it. It’s a lot of fun, and the players have been great, too.”
Even a few golfers who benefited after he left for the LIV Golf League have thanked them for opening spots in tournament fields.
“I think every week somebody’s thanked me, which has been kind of weird,” Koepka said.
Koepka will try to maintain that momentum at the Players, where he has never had a top-10 finish in six starts. He missed the cut in his most recent start on the Stadium Course, carding 72-81 in 2022.
One thing Koepka probably didn’t miss was the iconic 17th green at TPC Sawgrass.
That year, after bad weather delayed the second round, Koepka had to play the par-3 17th with a 35 mph wind blowing in his face when play resumed Saturday. His first attempt with an 8-iron was woefully short of the island green and went into the water. He carded a triple-bogey 6, after making a double-bogey 5 in the first round.
“That 17th hole has gotten me over the years,” Koepka said. “I’ve played good rounds here; that’s just kind of the one bugaboo that always gets me.”
In 20 career rounds on the Stadium Course, Koepka is 20 over par on the 17th. He has recorded two bogeys, three doubles, two triples and two quadruple-bogey 7s. He hit the island green only 55% of the time and hit 10 balls in the water.
“I don’t think about it. It doesn’t haunt me,” Koepka said. “I mean, my friends, they give me a bunch of crap about it. My friends bust my chops about it pretty good. So, I mean, it’s all fun and games. Then I just got to go out and go do it.”
Koepka did find the 17th green during a practice round Monday.
“I was pretty pumped about that,” he said.
