Brooks Koepka carded rounds of 65 and 67 over the primary two days to prime the leaderboard at The Masters, the place victory would give him his fifth major title and first since becoming a member of LIV; watch all through the weekend completely reside on Sky Sports Golf
By Ali Stafford at Augusta National
Last Updated: 08/04/23 12:41am
Highlights from the second spherical of the 2023 Masters at Augusta National
Highlights from the second spherical of the 2023 Masters at Augusta National
Brooks Koepka is the person to beat heading into the weekend at The Masters, with the previous world No 1 in a a lot better place than throughout his earlier two visits to Augusta National.
Koepka received 4 majors between 2017 and 2019 and contended in a number of others, earlier than a string of knee and hip accidents – some of which have been highlighted within the latest Netflix ‘Full Swing’ sequence – made him concern for his future on the highest degree.
The American might barely stoop to learn putts throughout his missed reduce at The Masters in 2021, the place he tried to rush again simply weeks after knee surgical procedure, and he was left pissed off once more when back-to-back 75s noticed him make an early exit in final yr’s contest.
Brooks Koepka produced an excellent second spherical to head into the weekend at The Masters on 12 beneath
“I don’t even know if I should be saying this, but pretty sure I tried to break the back window with my fist of the car,” Koepka admitted on Friday. “I tried to put it through the back window, not once but twice. First time didn’t go, so figured try it again.
“Yeah, it was quite a bit of frustration final yr. Super annoying. I’ve come a good distance since then.”
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Koepka has not featured on the PGA Tour since then, struggling with his fitness during disappointing performances at the PGA Championship and US Open before confirming later that month he would be joining the LIV Golf circuit.
When asked whether a healthier Koepka would have found his decision to move more challenging, he admitted: “If I’m being utterly sincere, I feel it might have been. But I’m pleased with the choice I made.
Koepka shot a formidable 67 in his second spherical at The Masters at Augusta National and claims any earlier injury points are forgotten
“If I wasn’t going to be able to move the way I wanted to, I didn’t want to play the game anymore. It’s just that simple. There was definitely moments of that. Last year was pretty tough. Just a lot of frustration.”
Positive steps return for Koepka with LIV
Koepka continued to wrestle with kind and health earlier than turning a nook with an inaugural LIV Golf victory in October, claiming play-off victory in Jeddah, whereas one other win on the LIV Golf occasion in Orlando final Sunday gave him a lot of confidence going into the opening major of the yr.
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“Probably towards the end of last year, I felt it was coming,” Koepka mentioned. “It wasn’t exactly all the way there. Probably, I’d say January I knew I was back. I knew everything was right where it needed to be strength-wise, mobility-wise and being able to do things with the golf swing.”
Koepka mentioned after turning into the primary a number of winner on the Saudi-backed circuit that it might be “a huge statement” if one of the 18-strong LIV contingent might declare the Green Jacket this week, with the 32-year-old laying down a marker himself and setting the clubhouse goal with a dominant two days.
“I feel really good,” Koepka mentioned after a bogey-free 67 on Friday. “I like the way I’m swinging the golf club, putting it, chipping it, driving it, iron play is solid. It feels really similar [to his run of major success]. Didn’t really do too much wrong.”
The begin of one thing greater for Brooks?
Koepka will head into what’s scheduled to be a weather-disrupted weekend because the agency favorite to add to his major tally, though the eight-time PGA Tour winner already has one eye on becoming a member of golf’s most unique membership.
Nick Dougherty, Luke Donald and Brad Faxon talk about whether or not Koepka and his caddie have been in breach of the foundations after showing to point out to Gary Woodland which membership to use on the fifteenth gap
“The whole goal is to win the Grand Slam, right,” Koepka mentioned. “I feel like all the greats have won here and they have all won The Open as well. Look, I guess it [winning at Augusta] is one more box for me to tick to truly feel like I’ve done what I should have accomplished in this game.”
There was a interval in golf the place you felt Koepka was going to win virtually each major he teed it up in. Based on the primary two rounds, it might be no shock to see these instances return.
“He is playing beautiful golf,” Sky Sports’ Butch Harmon mentioned. “He is not going backwards. The others are going to have to come and get him.”
Watch The Masters all through the weekend reside on Sky Sports. Live protection continues from the sooner time of 1pm on Saturday on Sky Sports Golf, with a number of bonus feeds accessible by way of the purple button.
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