• Brooks Koepka takes a one-shot lead at the WGC Workday Championship.
BRADENTON, Fla. — Brooks Koepka hit one of his worst tee shots of the day that barely cleared the water on the 15th hole.
That turned out to be the start of three straight birdies that led to a 6-under 66 and a one-shot lead
Friday in the Workday Championship.
In some respects, that’s how his recent surge has been.
Coming off a pair of missed cuts, Koepka won the Phoenix Open to end an 18-month drought. And now he’s starting to hit his stride with the first major of the year creeping up quickly.
Koepka hit a chip 9-iron to 6 feet for birdie on No. 15, nearly holed his wedge on the next hole and then birdied the par-5 17th with a splendid bunker shot across the ridges and down the slope to tap-in range.
He closed with a bogey by avoiding a deceptive pin near the water on the closing hole at The Concession. Koepka, who finished at 11-under 133, had a one-shot lead over Cameron Smith, Billy Horschel and PGA champion Collin Morikawa, who made up ground quick with six birdies over his last 10 holes.
“Usually I can never find my game until The Players. That’s kind of when it starts to feel like it’s coming around,” Koepka said. “But the fact that it’s here a little bit early is nice.”
Koepka spent most of his offseason with trainer Derek Stone in San Diego, saying he has not spent more than about 25 days at his home in South Florida since August. It was all about getting his left knee healthy, and his game looks as good as his health.
A dozen players were separated by five shots going into the weekend of this World Golf Championship, which moved from Mexico City this year because of COVID-19 circumstances and is providing a vastly different test.
Players have gone from mile-high altitude to flat Florida, with fairways lined with water hazards and palmetto bushes and greens with wild slopes and contours.
Even with a 71-man field, the difference between first and last was a whopping 22 shots.
Morikawa matched the low score of the tournament with a 64. The other 64 belonged to U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, who was 13 shots better than his opening round.
“It’s just a tale of golf. You can have both ends of the stick,” DeChambeau said. “I didn’t play terrible yesterday, I just didn’t get anything going my way, especially on that back nine. Had some bad mistakes and that’s what happened. I made some good putts and good strokes today that just luck went my way today.”