Before his come-from-behind victory at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, Brooks Koepka’s level of frustration had reached a breaking point.
He snapped sets of clubs over his knee not once but twice, most recently after a missed cut at the Farmers Insurance Open and previously after the Mayakoba Golf Classic.
“I’m not one to break clubs or do anything. I mean, you see me on the golf course, I don’t really slam clubs, don’t get too upset,” he said.
He had enough good sense to control his emotions at the course, but in the privacy of his living room, he let a little steam off.
“I walked right into the house and just (crack) right over the knee,” he said. “I don’t think I came out of the room for about 30 hours or so, I was so mad at myself, didn’t want to talk to anybody. Just didn’t come out of the room, was really agitated, really pissed off.
“Sometimes you need that. Sometimes you just need to not reset but really think about, all right, hey, this is what I’ve got to do and I did it, I guess.”
When asked if there was video of the club-snapping he could share, Koepka said, “No, no, you’re not going to get video of that. I have pictures. I sent it to all my boys.”
Koepka, who formerly was a Nike ambassador until the company quit making clubs and won his four majors playing Mizuno irons, remains an equipment free agent and recently switched to using Srixon irons at the American Express in January.
“Just felt like the irons were going a little bit higher. The ball flight was pretty good. The way it goes through the turf. The irons, the way they go through the turf, it’s not — they don’t stick, because I do come pretty steep on it,” Koepka said in Phoenix. “I like them. The flight is good. Good, strong flight and everything is good.”
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Koepka had been telling anyone who would listen that everything was good with his game and that his game was close. The turning point happened in Palm Springs in January, shortly before his 2021 debut at Torrey Pines when his caddie Ricky Elliot flew in for some training sessions.
“Whatever reason, I couldn’t hit a draw and we were just kind of looking at video, talking with Pete and talking with Butch a little bit. Ricky finally said something, he said, ‘Dude, you looked jammed up on the ball, move the ball away from you a little bit.’ I mean, it felt awkward at the time just like any change is going to feel awkward. It worked and I felt very comfortable ever since,” Koepka said.
After three straight missed cuts, Koepka fired four rounds in the 60s in Phoenix, including a 65 in the final round. A healthy Koepka means a busy Koepka. As he put it, “I feel good, so why not play?” Asked to share his schedule in the lead up to the Masters, Koepka said, “I’ll tell you what I’m not playing, it’s easier. Not playing Bay Hill and not going to do Valero. Pretty much all the way up to Augusta I’ll be playing everything else.”
Koepka isn’t usually one to be short of confidence and coming off victory his confidence level is running high.
“I feel very confident, I like where I’m at. My game feels exactly where it’s been in the past, honestly,” he said. “I’m definitely confident coming off a win.”
