Brooks Koepka admitted he unknowingly used the wrong driver settings during the opening round of The Masters after uncovering a surprising equipment error on Thursday evening.
The five-time major champion endured an uncharacteristically erratic start at Augusta National Golf Club. Koepka missed six of his first seven fairways, with tee shots repeatedly fading more than expected.
Despite the early struggles, the former world number one adapted to the right miss and recovered well enough to post an opening even-par 72, finding seven fairways across the round.
The explanation only emerged later.
After returning to the range before sun set, Koepka discovered that the SureFit hosel on his Titleist GT3 driver (voted one of the best drivers by GolfMagic) had been inadvertently adjusted from its standard A1 setting to B1 — a setup that promotes a fade bias.
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“No one noticed it,” Koepka said.
Scroll down to watch Koepka’s comments…
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Under USGA rules, players are allowed to adjust their equipment between rounds, enabling Koepka to correct the setting ahead of Friday’s second round.
The difference was immediate.
Koepka looked far more assured off the tee and carded a three-under 69, mixing six birdies with improved driving to climb to three-under par for the tournament.
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“If anything happens you just got to let it roll off your back and go with it and keep fighting,” Koepka told reporters after the second round.
“I feel like I’ve done a good job of that. Three-putted the first hole twice, so proud of that; proud of the way I’ve bounced back every day.”
Koepka’s resilience reflects a broader trend in recent weeks.
Koepka bounced back with a 69 on Friday
Since returning to the PGA Tour from LIV Golf earlier this year, Koepka has recorded solid finishes including T9 at the Cognizant Classic, T13 at The Players Championship and T18 at the Valspar Championship.
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A missed cut in Houston briefly disrupted that progress, though Koepka remained encouraged by his ball-striking.
“Even after the missed cut, I was hitting it really good,” Koepka said.
“Just got overly aggressive. Kind of was hitting it too good, and then you think you can take on everything, and you can’t.”
That confidence was evident during his second round.
Koepka missed just four greens in regulation and produced a series of key par saves, including an 18-foot putt at the par-4 17th.
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Two holes earlier, he recovered from a heavy-handed flop shot with another clutch putt from eight feet.
“It was a good kind of momentum builder I guess going into tomorrow,” Koepka said of the late saves. “Makes you feel good.”
Koepka briefly moved within four shots of the lead by the time he finished his second round, but then Rory McIlroy surged clear.
The defending champion reeled off six birdies in his final seven holes to reach 12-under par, opening a commanding six-shot lead heading into the weekend.
Koepka trails by nine entering the weekend.
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McIlroy’s six-shot margin on Sam Burns and Patrick Reed marks the largest 36-hole lead in Masters history.
Only two players have held bigger halfway leads in men’s major championship history: Henry Cotton at the 1934 Open and Koepka himself at the 2019 Open — both of whom converted those leads into victory.
McIlroy completed the career grand slam at The Masters last April.
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy is now targeting a successful title defence that would place him alongside Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods in the record books.
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Koepka was also asked about comments made by Tom Watson regarding LIV players returning to the PGA Tour.
He said: “That’s fine if he thinks that. I’m just grateful to be out here. The people that make those decisions let me out here. If you’re going to get the opportunity to come back out, you’re going to take it.”
Read Koepka’s full comments on that here
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