Koepka’s 64 full of adventure
Brooks Koepka’s month-long working vacation in Asia started with a thrill ride at Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai.
In taking the lead in the first round of the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions, the U.S. Open champ made a bogey by three-putting from 4 feet and made a birdie after hitting a ball out of a creek.
With his shirt muddied from his adventure in the creek, Koepka signed for an 8-underpar 64 Thursday to grab a oneshot lead over Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Gavin Green in the first WGC event of the 2017-18 season. World No. 1 Dustin Johnson shot 68 to stand four back, and defending champion Hideki Matsuyama struggled to a 74.
“I felt like I played really well,” said Koepka, ranked No. 11 in the world. “I drove it pretty well and putted extremely well except for one little hiccup. Game feels good, and excited to start the season.”
The hiccup came on the par-4, 362-yard third hole — his 12th hole of the day. After his approach nestled within 4 feet of the cup, Koepka pulled his first putt, then missed another shorty and walked off with a bogey. Not that it bothered Koepka as he birdied the next hole.
“It doesn’t really bother me,” he said of the three-putt. “I can make 9 or 12, or I can make an ace. It’s not really going to change anything. You still try to shoot the best score you can and grind it out.”
His other hiccup came on the par-5, 603-yard eighth hole. Hoping to play it safe off the tee by hitting a 3-iron instead of a driver, Koepka pulled his tee shot with the iron and wound up in a creek far left of the fairway. Fortunately he was still able to play his second shot out of the creek — he removed his golf shoes and knocked his shot 50 yards — and then ripped a 3wood from 275 yards to 20 feet from the hole. And then made the putt for birdie.
“I had some fun in the water,” said Koepka, trying to earn his first WGC title after winning his first major in June in the U.S. Open at Erin Hills in Wisconsin. “It was an interesting hole, to say the least.
“It was an awful 3-iron. Hit it in the water, and to be lucky enough to get it out was very fortunate. And then to hit 3wood in there and then make the putt, we were laughing. It was almost kind of like destiny to make that putt for how lucky we were that whole hole.”
Koepka is playing for the first time since he went 2-2-0 in the USA’s victory in The Presidents Cup nearly four weeks ago. He will spend the next two weeks relaxing on beaches in Vietnam and Thailand and then defend his title in the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament in Japan.
“You’ve got to get off to a good start,” he said. “Doesn’t really mean much; there are three other days. But any time you can get off to a good start and be close to the lead or have the lead, that’s what you want.
“Just roll into that the rest of the week.”