Koepka shows he’s still got it
Very quickly, everybody remembered how Brooks Koepka made winning the U.S. Open last year look so easy.
The long-bombing defending champion tied the low round of the tournament with a 4-under 66 Friday at Shinnecock Hills and now goes into the weekend at 1-over, five back of leader Dustin Johnson. It put the thought of Koepka’s opening round 75 in the past, and the six birdies he made were a show of just how hot he can get.
“There’s nobody more confident here than me,” Koepka said. “I feel like I’m playing really well. Just need to continue what we’re doing.”
Surely, the 28-year-old can also reach back to this time last year, when he shot a total of 16-under at Erin Hills in Wisconsin and made many think the USGA was taking it too easy for the setup of their national championship. The first round at Shinnecock proved they still wanted this to be the toughest test in golf, even if it let up just a bit Friday.
“It’s a U.S. Open, so disaster’s always around the corner,” Koepka said. “You never know what’s going to happen. You just keep putting the ball in play, hitting greens and try to sneak in a few birdies when you can.”
It wasn’t looking great for Koepka when he started on No. 10 late in the afternoon and made two bogeys in his first four holes. But he birdied Nos. 17 and 18, then made four more birdies on the front for a blistering 31.
“I feel like I’ve got some momentum on my side,” Koepka said. “Obviously, with finishing with six birdies [overall], I played really solid.”
As for the golf course, Koepka realizes Shinnecock is not going to play like this over the weekend — which means it’s not going to play like Erin Hills. But he has already shown he has the ability to handle this new challenge.
“There’s not many birdies,” he said. “Like I said, there’s a disaster around every corner. I mean, all it takes is one shot in the fescue, and you could be in there for a while. But, obviously, you need a good round [Saturday] just to give yourself a chance. You know, anything within three shots of the lead on the back nine Sunday, anything can happen.”