Brooks Koepka Is All the Way Back, and Co-Leading at the Masters
AUGUSTA, Ga. — It wasn’t that long ago that Brooks Koepka was quite literally the man.
He was the betting favorite in every major from his U.S. Open win in 2017 into the middle of 2020, during which Koepka won three more major titles—two PGA Championships and another U.S. Open.
In March 2021, Koepka suffered a dislocated kneecap that changed his entire outlook on golf and his ability to play it at a high level until December of last year.
After surgery, Koepka was not better than ever, but good enough to give it a go, but the struggle continued for over a year.
And now with a win last week on the LIV tour in Orlando and a birdie-birdie finish Thursday to finish off a co-leading 7-under 65 at the Masters, Koepka is really back.
“Wake up pain-free,” Koepka said of how he feels now. “Being able to move. Not having to get shot up to play. Not having to do anything. It's been nice just to—I mean, normal, it's a new normal, but it's definitely pretty close to what it was.”
When Koepka played in the 2021 Masters, he looked for the best places to walk not to irritate his knee and in August 2021, Koepka remembered biting down on a towel and crying while his therapist was trying to bend his knee.
“I figure if I can go through that, I can go through anything,” Koepka said of his knee therapy.
On Thursday, Koepka moved through the 18 holes of Augusta National with ease and a purpose he had not had since his last win on the PGA Tour at the 2021 WM Phoenix Open.
Except for a tee shot on the 13th hole that he hit off the toe and watched turn left into the trees, Koepka was, in a word, brilliant in an eight-birdie round.
Add in the fact that since the beginning of 2017, including today, Koepka has led or co-led in majors 14 times, the most by far in the over five-year period, the 32-year-old seems in a word back.
“I think it definitely helped,” Koepka said of playing the limited LIV Golf schedule helping his rehab. “I wouldn't say probably till maybe end of December when I was like, O.K., everything is starting to click now, being able to bend my knee fully.”
Koepka believes the hard work of all his team made him rededicate himself as well.
“Obviously, it's the hardest I've ever worked,” Koepka said. “Just trying to get back, because I felt like I was on the cusp of it, and it was nice to know that I was able to get through that.”
The knee still needs tender loving care with the physio working on it before and after the round, and some type of cold-wrap application as part of the after-round therapy.
But one thing is for sure, his knee is no longer holding him back and the success he had in 2019 Masters as the co-leader in the first two rounds before finishing T2, one shot back of Tiger Woods, seems to be on Koepka’s radar screen.
“I just take it one day at a time,” Koepka said. “There's a lot going on. But, you know, just try to play the best I can play every time I tee it up. Play well this week takes care of a lot of things. It was nice to win last week. But just try to build off that momentum. There’re quite a few big events. We've got a lot of golf to play over the next three months. It would be a good time to start peaking.”