More than a year has passed since the last time Brooks Koepka (-11) won a tournament. It was at the LIV Golf in Greenbrier, where he defeated Jon Rahm in the playoff to claim his fifth title on the tour. Outside the Saudi circuit, you have to go back to May 2023, at the PGA Championship, to see the golfer from West Palm Beach lifting a trophy. Too long for a player of his calibre, who this week wants to satisfy his ‘hunger’ in France and avoid a winless year, something he hasn’t experienced since 2020, a year complicated by the effects of COVID.
Yesterday, with a great round of 68 strokes, he took a first step to get into the fight. Today he confirmed his good feelings with a round of 65 strokes, the best of the day at the Golf de Saint-Nom-La-Bretèch, to reach the final 18 holes of the FedEx Open de France of the DP World Tour as co-leader, alongside Australian Min Woo Lee (-11). Brooks wants to end his ‘drought’ in Paris and drown the sorrows of not being part of the US team that will compete in the Ryder Cup next week at Bethpage Black after four consecutive appearances.
Players like Marcus Armitage (-10), who slipped this Saturday after two days leading the standings, Michael Kim (-10), or Guido Migliozzi (-10) are also perfectly positioned for the conclusion of the prestigious French tournament. But it is advisable not to rule out names like Jeong Weon Ko (-9), Elvis Smylie (-9), or even Darius Van Driel (-8) and Freedy Schott (-8), at a more than recoverable distance on a course that has seen a 63, a 64, and a couple of rounds of 65 strokes this week.
Super shot, Jeong weon Ko 👏 #FedExOpenDeFrance pic.twitter.com/08jun3r3J3
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 20, 2025
For the Spaniards, unfortunately, the fight for victory has become practically impossible. Both Ángel Ayora (-5) and Pablo Ereño (-5) played under par today, with rounds of 68 and 69 strokes, respectively, but the top 10 seems their most accessible goal. Nothing to do now for Nacho Elvira (PAR), who sank today with 75 strokes, nor for Jorge Campillo (+5), who went from 67 on Thursday to 75 yesterday and 76 today, very inaccurate from the tee.
All to play for tomorrow in France, with most eyes on Brooks Koepka, who closed Friday with two bogeys in his last three holes and today with a bogey on the 18th and still was the best on the course. With a series of five consecutive birdies like the one he signed on this ‘moving day’ between the 13th and 17th, his first victory in more than a year, first in more than two outside LIV Golf, will be closer.
