Brooks Koepka has a great history of performing well at the PGA Championship, having won the tournament three times in the past decade.
He’s enjoyed a relatively successful first day at Aronimink Golf Club on Thursday, too, shooting one-under to be just a couple of shots behind the leaders.
The disparity between Koepka’s play on the fairways compared to on the greens was huge. So much so, that the 36-year-old actually ranked near the top of the pile for Strokes Gained in ball striking, while he was nearly dead last for Strokes Gained: Putting.
Looking at the numbers, Koepka gained three-and-a-half shots in approach play, but lost two strokes on the greens with the flatstick.
Koepka put a new putter in his bag recently — the TaylorMade Spider Tour F — but it doesn’t seem to be paying off as things stand. He registered 32 putts in the first round and ranked 142nd on the day for putting, which leaves him almost dead last in the field in that area.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Still, the man himself was quick to admit his flaws after his round at Aronimink.
Asked by the media about his confidence levels and his overall play on the day, Koepka said: “I feel good. Every round just seems to be the worst I can shoot. Putter is absolutely horrendous. Ball striking is absolutely phenomenal.
“That’s been the story of the year. Hopefully we can figure out a way to turn this around.”
He was later questioned about his equipment changes in the wake of leaving Srixon behind and how this might have affected his play.
“Everything feels fine. I like the way I’m striking it. I like the flight, the spin; everything’s been the same way for the past couple months,” he added.
“I feel comfortable with the putter. A little bit of speed, a little bit of confidence. That kind of sums it up. It’s just been miss after miss. It’s tough to build any confidence when you’re not putting well.”
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