Brooks Is Here

Brooks Koepka currently leads the Masters after shooting a second round 67. He’s 12 under through two rounds. Koepka’s play has been spectacular so far. He has showcased the skills that he flashed in his prime years as he racked up four major championships. With his body finally right, Koepka’s stellar driving and iron play is once again on display. He leads the field in Strokes Gained: Approach and has hit 89% of his fairways.

But as I watched Koepka today, I was most impressed by his putting. During Koepka’s prime, I always felt like his singular skill was his ability to avoid giving shots away. He did that through a solid short game but also the knack for making momentum-maintaining putts. During the start of Friday’s round, Koepka’s putting was tested out of the gates; he was a little loose from tee to green. Koepka got up and down on each of the first four holes, making a significant putt on each. This is what Brooks used to do: even on meh days, he never gave shots away carelessly.

Koepka’s supreme nerve was on display a lot from 2017 to 2019, but I’ll never forget the up and down he made on the 14th at Shinnecock Hills at the 2018 U.S. Open. After Koepka drove it into the thick stuff, he was forced to lay up 70 yards short of the green. But just when you thought he was going to give one away, he kept the ship steady by pitching onto the green and making a clutch 10 footer. Getting a bogey out of Peak Koepka was like getting a Titleist employee to admit there is a distance problem in golf. Prime Tiger possessed this trait in spades. If Brooks is able to make clutch putts like those again, watch out.