Brooks Koepka Video & Text Jeddah Press Conference
Royal Greens Golf & Country Club
Quick Quotes
THE MODERATOR: Welcome Brooks who is the captain of Team Smash, clubhouse leader who shot 8-under today.
Q. You’re coming off your best result last week at LIV. Did you see this coming, a trending upward type of thing?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I did. I think last week was kind of a turning point for me. I’ve worked pretty hard with Claude, with Pete and Jeff over these last few months, getting back together with Claude and getting to see Pete a bit more.
So this is the first time I’ve played back-to-back weeks since February. So tough to build a rhythm. I could see it coming. I’m very pleased with it, pleased with last week, and you know, hopefully just put together two more good rounds.
Q. Were you working on something specific, anything that you can flip the switch the last few days?
BROOKS KOEPKA: No, not the last few days. I mean, I went to Claude on, I think we were in Bedminster, worked with him on Saturday night for the first time in probably what, two, 2 1/2 years.
Yeah, seen him a lot back home and getting to see Pete a little bit more. It’s helped for sure.
Q. You mentioned it quickly on 18, there was a certain player that was sitting right behind you on the leaderboard, your brother. What was that like, him being behind you but also being your teammate?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, it’s incredible to have him as my teammate. Pretty fun. Probably never dreamed of it. But to have the opportunity to play with him is pretty special and pretty unique. You know, nobody else is out here who has got their brother, and it’s been fun. We’ve become a lot closer because of it and it’s been special to me.
But yeah, making that turn on 10 tee was pretty cool getting to see his name. Who knows if that will ever happen again. But yeah, I don’t know what he shot. I think he shot 3-under. He’s been playing pretty solid. He’s been getting a little more confidence. I’m proud of him. So that’s all that matters.
Q. I know you turned down a chocolate ice cream after your round. Is this part of your new regime? Is there a special diet or special focus that you have?
BROOKS KOEPKA: No. I haven’t hit the gym in a long time. Just trying to be healthy, man. I’ve had quite a few nagging stuff over the year where we weren’t sure if we were going to go under the knife or not, and backing off in the gym has helped, and right after Miami I’m going to ramp it up again. Probably shouldn’t be eating ice cream. I mean, it looked good, though, I ain’t going to lie.
Q. Is this has good as you’ve felt physically this year, like right now?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Oh, by a mile, yeah. Had hip issues all year. Like I said, didn’t know if we were going to go under the knife or not. Found that out back in February. So just been dealing with that. Everything’s starting to come together. Body is coming together.
Best I’ve felt in three years. And then, you know, the golf swing is starting to come around. I’m excited. Kind of sucks we only have this event and Miami left, and a bunch of time off. But, it will be fine. Just keep doing what I’m doing and try to be healthy, and if I’m healthy, I can make a golf swing where I can compete again. I’m excited, like I said, working with Claude again, and it will be interesting to see what goes on over the next couple months. I’m excited.
Q. The weather was a little bit tough on you guys today, but obviously you did very well. So what was the plan and how did you tackle it?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I think this golf course, you’ve got to hit some fairways. I didn’t quite drive it great today. But I put it in good spots just knowing where the pin location is off the tee, there’s a certain side you can miss it on and you can’t, and I made sure my misses were on that side.
So it helped my second shots a lot more having good angles in, and I putted pretty good today, too. So I can’t complain other than the last hole, missed a little 6-footer. But I’m playing good, trending the right way and very pleased.
Q. In terms of your performance, were you happy overall or did you think you could have done something better?
BROOKS KOEPKA: There’s always room for improvement. You can always do something better. But I mean, if you had told me before the day started, I would have taken 8-under. I think it blows pretty good out here, so you can get in some difficult spots, and I think the greens have gotten considerably better from when we got here on Monday to now. That’s been nice. But yeah, I’ve played really well. Very happy with it and just need to continue this for the next two days.
Q. Obviously you’ve participated in the Kingdom before but this is the first time LIV Golf is here. How do you see the live golf being here for the first time in the Middle East?
BROOKS KOEPKA: It’s good to be back. I haven’t been back in three years, I think, was the last time I was here. The golf course hasn’t changed but it’s fun to be back. It’s an exciting golf course. You can make plenty of birdies but overall, I mean, everybody here has been nothing but polite, respectful. It’s been a joy.
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