Brooks Koepka will be looking to get back inside the PGA Tour winners’ circle this week at the Cognizant Classic.
Koepka has been back on the PGA Tour for just over a month now, but he is yet to rediscover his best form.
Brooks Koepka announced he’d be returning to the PGA Tour at the end of last year, after he left LIV Golf.
He finished in a tie for 56th at Torrey Pines before missing the cut in Phoenix.
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And now Koepka will be desperate to get back to winning ways at the Cognizant Classic this week.
Koepka is not entirely happy with his game ahead of the Cognizant Classic, but the more competitive reps he is able to get in, the better he will become.
But does he fancy his chances of contending in his home state this week?
Brooks Koepka opens up on changes to the Cognizant Classic course
The five-time major champion addressed the media on Wednesday ahead of the start of the Cognizant Classic on Thursday.
He was asked by reporters where he believes he will be able to take advantage of the golf course this week, and he highlighted just how much the layout and condition has changed over the past decade or so.
“You know, the course has changed so much, I think, from when I last played it, being overseeded, Koepka admitted.
“I can think — 10 is back to a par-5. 6, the two bunkers on the right are taken out. Chipping around the greens has gotten a lot easier.
“The rough is down a little bit. It was so difficult because if you got in the rough here, you had to judge whether it was going to be a 30-yard flier or just come out 30 percent of its normal distance. It was just a pure guess.
“So it’s a little more consistent now. You can kind of judge that better. Then I’ll see the back today.
“But as far as the front, everything seems to be — they’re good changes.
“It’s the best I’ve seen this course in probably my 15 years, 20 years down here.“
The course at PGA National has undoubtedly changed over the past few years. The last two winning scores have been the lowest under par since 2003.
With some beautiful weather expected in Palm Beach this week, it would be no surprise to see the winning score creep beyond 20-under-par.
Brooks Koepka predicts lower scores at the Cognizant
Koepka was asked by reporters on Wednesday whether he predicts lower or higher scores this week in Palm Beach.
“Yeah, I definitely think they will be lower just because of the overseed,“ he said.
“I think you saw last year with Jake, those scores are definitely possible. Not saying anybody is going to do it this year. They very well could, but it’s definitely gotten easier.
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“I think you look at 10 being a par-4, chipping around these greens. On the back of 4, 11, they were always very dicey. If you missed those greens, you knew you were pretty much making bogey. Now with it being a little bit more consistent, I think you’ve got a reasonable chance of making — holing a chip or even getting it up-and-down.
“It was always a little bit — not sketchy, but anybody that knows or lives down on the East Coast knows that Bermuda isn’t exactly the easiest thing to chip off of, especially when it’s been trampled down over plenty of days and it’s a little grainy into. But now at least you can get under the ball and have good contact with it. It makes chipping a lot easier.
“I think removing the bunkers on 6 made that hole a lot easier because if you hit it in those bunkers, you were laying up immediately. I don’t know for a fact, but I believe they took out some trees on the right, too, because you kind of aimed at the bunkers and swung hard, and if you pulled it you were in the fairway, and if you blocked it you were all right on the right-hand side, where now you can actually take it down the fairway.“
Koepka has historically performed better on tough golf courses where the scoring is lower than usual.
So it will be interesting to see how he gets on at PGA National this week, if the scores get to 20-under-par or better come Sunday.
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