[Photo: Caleb Bowlin]
Brooks Koepka’s PGA Tour season is over. And he’s not happy about it.
The five-time major champion came back to the tour this season after his time with LIV Golf and had to play his way back into the bigger events and the FedEx Cup Playoffs, which never materialised. After playing in 16 events, he missed six cuts and had only one top-10 finish, a ninth-place tie at the Cognizant Classic at PGA National.
In his last five starts this year, with a chance to make some noise and gain points toward the postseason, Koepka withdrew from the Canadian Open, missed the cut at both the US Open and Scottish Open, tied for 28th at the Open Championship and was well down the bottom of the leaderboard today when he finished the Wyndham Championship.
Koepka, 36, entered the week 86th in FedEx Cup points – the top 70 advance to the first event – and he shot 67-66 to start, but closed with 74-70 on the weekend, including playing the last five holes in four-over with a double-bogey on the last hole.
“I think it’s pretty pathetic that I can’t get through,” Koepka said. “Zero top-10s basically in two years. To be in the prime of your career and be as good as I think I am, I think that’s very pathetic, disappointing. Just need to go home and completely re-evaluate everything.”
As has been the issue for most of the year, and Koepka acknowledged at Sedgefield Country Club, his putting has been his biggest Kryptonite. He ranked 28th in strokes gained/total on tour, 52nd in off the tee, eighth in approach to the green but 116th in strokes/gained putting.
“I don’t know what the deal is, got zero confidence, can’t putt,” he said. “I don’t know. There’s going to be a lot of changes here soon.”
Koepka said that he’ll play in a couple events in Europe next, then will consider adding a couple PGA Tour “Fall” events to his schedule. But for now, although disappointed to not be playing more the next few weeks, he said that his return to the PGA Tour has been mostly positive.
“Honestly, I’ve loved it,” he said. “I feel fantastic. The reception’s been great. Overall happiness is 10 out of 10 and just excited.”