Brooks Koepka’s first month back on the PGA Tour has been a reality check. But on Friday at the Cognizant Classic, in front of his friends and family, Koepka turned a corner. All thanks to his putter, but it was not enough. The revelation that came from golfer reflected his competitive mindset.
“No. If I’m out here to try to make cuts, I’m probably done,” said Koepka bluntly, after shooting 66 in R2.
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The response came when a reporter asked the golfer if making the cut in his home tournament was a small win by any means. Since rejoining the Tour, Koepka has not had a strong showing. He finished 56th at Torrey Pines and missed the cut at WMPO. But how he shot 66 after an underwhelming 74 the previous day is interesting.
“I hit it a lot worse today. Didn’t drive it nearly as well. Iron play wasn’t as good, but the putter was better. Made a few adjustments after the round yesterday. We were just kind of running over there. We spent probably about 15 minutes talking about it and then probably 30 minutes’ worth of work,” he told the media.
Koepka entered the Cognizant ranked 171st on Tour in strokes gained putting, ahead of only one other player in the field. In Round 1, that showed: he ranked 111th out of 123 players in strokes gained putting, losing over two strokes to the field. On Friday, he gained nearly four strokes on the greens, ranking third in the field at the time he finished. That was the best round of his season. The fix itself was straightforward, and it came down to one technical adjustment.
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After Thursday’s round, Koepka spent 15 minutes discussing the issue and followed it up with about 30 minutes of work on the practice green. The problem was his hand position at setup: his hands drifted back, creating an inconsistent stroke. On Friday, he made putts from 14, 16, 17, 21, and 32 feet, four of them for birdie.
Before Friday, he had broken 70 only three times in his last 25 official PGA Tour rounds. The four years at LIV and the adjustment to a new TaylorMade Spider Tour X mallet have made the short game a clear obstacle. His competitor, aka his teammate from the 2021 Ryder Cup, Daniel Berger, noted after Round 1 that Koepka can turn it around quickly, and that proved true within hours.
Now, sitting at 2 under in 27th position heading into the weekend, the golfer is seven shots off the lead but well within range in a tournament where Joe Highsmith made the cut on the number last year and went on to win. The precedent is there. And Brooks Koepka knows it.
“I just need to play like I did the first day and then putt like I did today,” the 35-year-old said. “I have a feeling the putting will come around.”
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For a player of his caliber, a functioning putter and a driver that is already working are a combination that could make the back half of this week very interesting.
However, in the presser, he shed light upon how he is watching the next round.
What’s next for Brooks Koepka at the Cognizant and beyond?
Brooks Koepka’s target for the weekend is straightforward: replicate the ball-striking from Round 1 and carry Friday’s putting form into Saturday and Sunday. He is not chasing a number; he just wants two clean rounds back-to-back, something he has not managed in any of his three starts since rejoining the Tour.
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The gap to the lead is seven shots, but Koepka is not treating the weekend as damage limitation. His mindset heading in is simple: all he wants to do is play solid and see where it lands. For a 5x major champion, that kind of controlled approach often does more than forcing the issue ever would.
In the bigger picture, Koepka is keeping his head down. When asked about the upcoming 2027 PGA Tour schedule and potential changes, he acknowledged he has no seat at that table yet. Three weeks back on Tour, he said, is not enough runway to expect anyone to take his voice seriously on policy matters.
That perspective underscores his priorities. Brooks Koepka is not here to lobby for influence or debate scheduling. He is here to win golf tournaments again, and right now, every round is about rebuilding the form that made him one of the most dominant major champions of his generation.
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