Brooks Koepka expects another punishing response after struggling in PGA defense
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Following Brooks Koepka’s tie for 45th at last month’s Masters, he was “penalized” by his team with an exercise regimen that almost made him “throw up.” After he finished outside the top 20 at the PGA Championship, he anticipates another punishing response.
“I would say [trainer Ara Suppiah] will probably make me do a bunch [of exercise], yeah,” Koepka said following a final-round 66. “I do what my team says. They tell me to line up, I line up. They tell me to do this, I’ll go do it.”
Koepka said he wasn’t particularly sharp with any part of his game at the PGA Championship, where he was the defending champion, but it was his putting that cost him the most on Saturday when he struggled to a 3-over 74. He lost nearly 2 ½ shots to the field in strokes gained: putting and managed just 55 feet of putts made.
“I don’t think I did one thing good at all [on Saturday]. Usually when you play bad, you’ve got one thing that you do OK and you might putt bad or you might drive it bad. Yesterday was just a combination of everything,” he said. “I missed a bunch of putts on Friday from inside, like, 5 feet and then yesterday’s round was unfortunate. But other than that, I think I’m pretty close to right there.”
Since winning last year’s PGA Championship, Koepka’s major record is a tie for 17th at the 2023 U.S. Open and a tie for 64th at The Open, along with his tie for 45th at last month’s Masters and this week’s result.