Brooks Koepka admitted this Thursday right after finishing the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open that he was nervous. He was returning to the PGA Tour after four years and it wasn’t an easy day. He signed a card of 73 strokes. He felt the responsibility to do well and was anxious about how he would be received. His assessment at the end is very satisfactory. He assures that he enjoyed it, that he has fallen in love with the game again, praised the influence of Scottie Scheffler and only regretted that his putter wasn’t up to par.
The nerves on the 1st tee… “Yes, yes, there were definitely nerves. Simply because I care. I think I’ve fallen in love with golf again. And honestly, seeing my son play a bit and wanting him to see me… or I suppose wanting him to see me play well and realise everything this game has given me, how fun it is and how incredible it is to be out here…
The influence of Scheffler, with whom he played the final round of the 2022 Phoenix Open, Scottie’s first victory on the PGA Tour… “That day he had blonde hair, I think. I think he had blonde hair. It’s always impressive to play with Scottie. Being close to him, how he does things. He and Ted prepare a good game plan. And obviously, Scottie’s execution is very good. It’s impressive how well… how consistent he’s been for so long and how well he’s playing. It’s cool to see. I’ve watched a lot of golf and I’ve watched him a lot. I think that also influences me falling in love with the game again.”
The reason he fell out of love… “It’s not that you fall out of love, but I think you can fall in love more deeply. I mean, I haven’t played competitively… I think Rickie said 14 weeks, so it’s a long time out, a lot of time to think, a lot of time to reflect. If you do that for a while sitting on the couch, you can get quite deep into what you feel. I’m excited”Brooks.
The reception from the public: from fear to joy… “Yes, it was great. The fans were incredible today. It was very nice to hear ‘welcome back’. Practically on every hole, which is great. I loved hearing it and I’m excited for the coming days. I don’t like to anticipate what’s going to happen, but I wasn’t sure, which is strange; it’s like being restless, or not really knowing. But from the first tee, it was great. In fact, it helped calm me down a bit. As I said, it made me feel good just to be here. I was in a good group with Max and Ludvig, I enjoyed it. The whole day was great.”
When he found out about Patrick Reed leaving LIV Golf and what he thought… “Yes, I saw it… I was with Jeff Pierce on the 2nd hole and he stopped on the fairway and asked me if I had seen it. And I was like: no, I’m here on the course, the phone is in the bag, so I didn’t see anything. It’s crazy. Whatever Patrick wants to do to be the best golfer he can be, the best for his family, I support him 100%. Everyone is different and you have to make decisions based on what’s best for the family. If he’s doing that, then I’m 100% with him, whatever he needs.”
Happy to return to the PGA Tour… “I’m just grateful for the opportunity to be here. Being here and seeing how quickly all this has come together. It’s blown my mind and I’m grateful to be here and have a chance to compete against these guys.”
El nudo en la garganta de Koepka y la tercera juventud de Rose
Assessment of his first round at the Farmers… “I felt it was pretty good. I hit the ball very well. As I said, with the driver I wasn’t… I didn’t hit enough fairways. If I managed to get behind the ball, I felt it was a quality shot. I didn’t make practically any putts, except for the one on the 18th. Yes, I felt good. It had been a while since I played competitive golf, so I like how I’m playing; I just need to get into the rhythm, get some mileage.”
