News

2023 PGA Championship: Brooks Koepka returns to elite status

Published

12 months ago

May 21, 2023

I’ll begin this championship recap with an anecdote that reminded me how certain people operate in this world. They are the ones that are 100% convinced that they have the answer, and they will not stray from their narrow, efficient path. On Sunday at Oak Hill, I was, ahem, removed from my inside-the-ropes photographers position by a member of some esoteric sect. It turned out that I, in fact, did not have ITR access, and my lanyard gave that designation away. Said agent was neither friendly nor understanding; I had transgressed, and I was to be dismissed. I followed procedure and shot from outside the ropes for the remainder of the afternoon.

I begin with this tale, to let you know how Brooks Koepka thinks. Like this evictor, Koepka has a rigid way of effecting. He does not waver from his path, and he knows no other. On Wednesday, he was asked if he still believed that only a dozen or so golfers in the field were capable of beating him. He responded

When you look at the major leaderboards over the last, I don’t know, maybe five, six years, I mean, it’s pretty repetitive on the guys who are at the top. So I think it’s still the same.

Between us, I don’t believe that Viktor Hovland is one of those twelve, at least in my take on Koepka’s eyes. Hovland is great, no doubt, but does not have major-championship chops. Case in point: with Koepka in the marsh on six, Hovland played too cautiously and found the right-front bunker. Buoyed by Hovland’s mistake, Koepka found the center of the clubface and put his third on the green. If Hovland gets the ball on the green, it releases to the back and he has a legitimate run at birdie. Instead, he gave Koepka room to breathe.

The next day, Koepka found himself six shots behind the leader, but I don’t think that he fears Bryson DeChambeau all that much. In his mind, Bryson played his best golf, and Koepka? Well, in his words …

I hit it, that was the worst I’ve hit it in a long time. Scrambled really well. Missed a couple putts early but scrambled really well late. Yeah, that was the worst I’ve hit it in a really long time.

Whatever he found on the practice range was the elixir that he needed. Koepka played magical golf the rest of the week: 66-66-67. We don’t have a transcript from his Friday interview, and that’s probably because he didn’t do one, or it wasn’t newsworthy. Things that were newsworthy that day, in order, were Cameron Young’s two-shot penalty and early departure, Michael Block’s second consecutive 70 and assurance that one PGA Professional would see the weekend, and Rahm, Spieth, and Thomas fighting back from poor first rounds to make the cut. On Friday, Koepka had five birdies and a bogey on the second nine, and all pars on the first nine. After successful rehabilitation from his knee injury, the Brooks Koepka of 2017-2019 had returned.

Saturday brought the constant rain, drizzle that it was, and the recollection that this was a major championship. Folks faded away, yet Michael Block the working man, somehow turned in a card with a third consecutive 70 on it. As for Koepka, he doubled down on his anthem, He did it his way, sung by the ghost of that great New Yorker, Frank Sinatra:

I love New York. It’s always fun. Like I said, you do something really well, they are going to let you know; and if you do something pretty poor, they are going to let you know, and I just love that. I love when the fans are on you, cheering for you, or you know, giving you crap if you screw up. That’s the beauty of it. You want that, or at least I want that atmosphere.

When a competitor says Bring It On to the fans, to the competitors, to the pilots of the blimp and the drones, he doesn’t give two anythings about thoughts or people outside of his narrative. For the third day, Koepka avoided the big number and laid five birdies against a solitary bogey. He took the lead over Hovland, by one shot.

The PGA Championship is brute’s delight. You don’t win on courses like Bellerive, Bethpage Black in May, and Oak Hill in May, without the strength of a smith and the grave in your belly of, well, a boy named Brooks. The Masters is the same course every year. The US Open has gravitated toward an Americanized version of links golf, and the Open championship is the most whimsical of all the majors. The PGA is hard work. Brooks Koepka seems to love hard work. He had to know that Corey Conners, Justin Rose, Justin Suh, and all the others in his wake, don’t love hard work like he loves it.

Brooks starting with a ?#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/eKwpRknJYW

— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 21, 2023

He had to know, too, that Kurt Kitayama and Cam Smith and Sepp Straka and Cam Davis could throw all the 65s they wanted on day four (they all did, doncha know?) and it would not matter. There was one golfer who might get there, but he needed 63. Scottie Scheffler looked like a man worth considering on Friday night. On Saturday, after he failed to prove himself a worth mudder, Scheffler had slipped and slid to a 73, one shot higher than that forgettable round that Koepka had on Thursday. Scheffler was out of it, until he wasn’t. He made six birdies against one bogey on Sunday for a 65 of his own, but he had to regret his performance on the par-three holes. When you get to choose your lie, you have to make a birdie. Scheffler made four pars, and needed two more birdies.

So here came Koepka, making mistake after mistake on Sunday, unlike the previous two days. His drive on six went into the same marsh that dashed Tom Kite’s US Open bid in 1989. He escaped with bogey. On seven, with a perfect fairway lie, he flared an iron right, into a horizontal stance. He made bogey. On 11, the long par three, his tee shot pulled left, into a bunker. He could only escape to 13 feet and he missed the putt. On 17, his drive missed right and he had to pitch out from the suffocating rough. His par putt from ten feet missed, and he had a fourth bogey on the day. Four bogeys on day four of a major would do most people in.

Driver ?? Putter for Brooks ??#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/FLrQgLyqWQ

— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 21, 2023

Fortunately for Koepka, he found stretches like holes two through four (all birdies) and twelve through sixteen (three birdies and two pars) and added one more, at the 10th. His seven birdies came at the right time, to dissuade all pursuers, including playing partner Hovland. The Norwegian was in hot pursuit, until a double bogey at the 16th, paired with Koepka’s birdie, dropped him from the chase. Hovland’s closing birdie brought him even with Scheffler, in a tie for second. It was Hovland’s best major finish to date, and hopefully, a heck of a tutorial.

Down the 18th strode Koepka. Driver to the fairway, 175 yards left. Approach to ten feet, and a walk up the final of Oak Hill’s many descents and ascents. A lag to inches, and major championship number five. Does this make him the favorite for the US Open at Los Angeles Country Club? You bet. It’s 2018 all over again.

This is how Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship.@ROLEX | #ROLEX pic.twitter.com/UK1KJGeD6K

— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 22, 2023

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News

Tour Rundown: Rose blooms, Rory rolls

Published

1 hour ago

May 13, 2024

Ronald Montesano

This week last year, I found myself praying to the weather goddesses and gods that Rochester would be spared their wrath over the next seven days. The 2023 Oak Hill PGA Championship (that was slated for August when the contract was signed) was on the horizon, and I wanted my region to show well. Things turned out fine, with all four seasons making an appearance, a PGA Professional (Blockie!) stealing hearts, and a proven champion in Koepka (although I was pulling for Viktor.)

This year, no concerns. Louisville will shine this week at Valhalla, but we’ve matters to consider before we look to four days of coverage this week. Nelly did not win on the LPGA this week, so who did? The PGA Tour held two events in the Carolinas, and Tour Champions celebrated a major event in Alabama. Four noteworthy events to run down, so let’s head to RunDownTown and take care of business.

LPGA @ Founders Cup: Rose blooms

There was a sense that Rose Zhang might have a role in the 2020s version of the LPGA. After winning everything there was in amateur golf, she came out and won her first tournament as a professional. That was last May and, let’s be honest, who among us thought it would take 12 months for Zhang to win again? Rhymes with hero, I know.

This week in New Jersey, eyes were on Nelly Korda, as she made a run at a sixth consecutive win on the LPGA circuit. Korda ran out of gas on Saturday, and that was just fine. Madelene Sagstrom and Zhang had turned the soiree at Upper Montclair into a battle of birdies. Gabriela Ruffels came third at nine-under par. No one else reached double digits under par but Sagstrom and Zhang. They didn’t just reach -10…they more than doubled it.

Sagstrom had the look of a winner with five holes left to play. She was three shots clear of Zhang, at 23-under par. The Swede played her closing quintet in plus-one, finishing at 22-deep, 13 shots ahead of Ruffels. That performance we’d anticipated from Zhang? It happened on Sunday. She closed with four birdies in five holes to snatch victory number two, by two shots. Spring is a lovely time for a Rose in bloom.

Take a look back at hole No. 1… @rosezhang is living life on the edge ? pic.twitter.com/o6z6SK7TRA

— LPGA (@LPGA) May 12, 2024

PGA Tour @ Wells Fargo: Rory the Fourth is crowned in Charlotte

Xander Schauffele is a likable lad. He has an Olympic gold medal on his shelf, and a few PGA Tour titles to his credit. Even X knows that even par won’t get much done in a final round unless conditions are brutal. They weren’t brutal at Quail Hollow on Sunday. X posted even par on day four. It kept him ahead of third-place finisher Byeong Hun An but gave him zero chance of challenging for the title.

Paired with Xander in round four was the King of Quail, Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman had previously won thrice at the North Carolina track, and he was champing at the bit to gain some momentum on the road to Louisville. While Xander scored increasingly worse along the week (64-67-70-71) McIlroy saved his best round for the final round. Thanks to five birdies and two eagles, McIlroy ran away with the event, winning his fourth Wells Fargo by five over Schauffele.

HOLE-OUT EAGLE FOR RORY!!!

He now leads by SIX! pic.twitter.com/UE49lwfwNC

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 12, 2024

PGA Tour @ Myrtle Beach Classic: a little CG won the inaugural week

It always seemed odd that the PGA Tour had zero stops along the Grand Strand each season. This week’s event seemed odd in that the golfers played the same course each day, and there were zero handicaps involved. Most events at Myrtle Beach involve hundreds of amateurs at dozens of courses, with all sorts of handicaps.

The Dunes Club is a Robert Trent Jones Sr. course, down toward Pawley’s Island. It claims what used to be considered an unreachable, par-five hole, the watery 13th. Nothing is unreachable any longer, including a 22-under par total for a six-shot win. Chris Gotterup, a former Rutgers and Oklahoma golfer, played sizzling golf all week and won by a sextet of shots. Gotterup opened with 66, then improved to 64 on Friday. His Saturday 65 sounded a beacon of “come get me,” and his closing 67 ensured that second place was the only thing up for grabs.

Chasing the podium’s second level were a bunch of young Americans. In the end, Alastair Docherty and Davis Thompson reached 16-deep, thanks to rounds of 64 and 68 on Sunday. They held off six golfers at 15-under par. The victory was Gotterup’s first on tour and should be enough to get him a Wikipedia page, among other plaudits.

Leader by SIX!
@ChrisGotterup | @MyrtleBeachC pic.twitter.com/TVdA6ZPYc4

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 12, 2024

PGA Tour Champions @ Regions Traditions: Vindication for Dougie

Doug Barron, if I recall correctly, was suspended by the Powers That Be, way back in 2009, for testosterone. He was naturally low in the hormone, so he took supplements. This did not sit well with certain admins, so he was put on the shelf for 18 months. Not cool.

In 2019, Barron came out on the Tour Champions. He won in August. The next year, despite the craziness of Covid, he won again. Barron hit a dry spell for a few years. He kept his card, but accrued no additional victories. In late April, Barron showed serious signs of life, with a t2 at Mitsubishi. This week in Birmingham, he jumped out to a lead, lost it, then gained it back on Saturday. With major championship glory on the line, Barron brought the train into the station with 68 on Sunday.

Stephen Alker, the man who could not lose just two years ago, gave serious chase with a closing 63. He moved up 11 slots, into solo 2nd on Sunday. He finished two shots back of the champion. Two shots ain’t much. Cough once and you drop a pair. Third place saw a three-way tie, including last year’s winner (Steve Stricker) and runner-up (Ernie Els.) Despite the intimidating presence of the game’s greats, however, Doug Barron had more than enough of everything this week, and he has a third Tour Champions title to show off.

At the @RegionsTrad, all champions receive a green bike.

Doug Barron decided to take a victory lap ? pic.twitter.com/bEzENMjZwv

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 13, 2024

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Equipment

Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?

Published

3 days ago

May 10, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.

The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?

Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.

When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.

To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.

Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.

“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.

“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”

Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.

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Equipment

Spotted: Tommy Fleetwood’s TaylorMade Spider Tour X Prototype putter

Published

4 days ago

May 9, 2024

Brian Knudson

Tommy Fleetwood has been attached to his Odyssey White Hot Pro #3 putter for years now. However, this week at the Wells Fargo Championship, we did spot him testing a new putter that is very different, yet somewhat similar, to his current gamer.

This new putter is a TaylorMade Spider Tour X head but with a brand new neck we haven’t seen on a Spider before. A flow neck is attached to the Spider head and gives the putter about a 1/2 shaft offset. This style neck will usually increase the toe hang of the putter and we can guess it gets the putter close to his White Hot Pro #3.

Another interesting design is that lack of TaylorMade’s True Path alignment on the top of the putter. Instead of the large white center stripe, Tommy’s Spider just has a very short white site line milled into it. As with his Odyssey, Tommy seems to be a fan of soft inserts and this Spider prototype looks to have the TPU Pure Roll insert with 45° grooves for immediate topspin and less hopping and skidding.

The sole is interesting as well in that the rear weights don’t look to be interchangeable and are recessed deep into the ports. This setup could be used to push the CG forward in the putter for a more blade-like feel during the stroke, like TaylorMade did with the Spider X Proto Scottie Scheffler tested out.

Tommy’s putter is finished off with an older Super Stroke Mid Slim 2.0 grip in blue and white. The Mid Slim was designed to fit in between the Ultra Slim 1.0 and the Slim 3.0 that was a popular grip on tour.