Brooks Koepka makes a drastic change in his PGA Tour return ahead of the WM Phoenix Open, the same change that helped turn Scottie Scheffler’s fortunes around which led to glory
23:24 ET, 04 Feb 2026Updated 23:26 ET, 04 Feb 2026
Brooks Koepka made a change in hopes of helping him achieve better results after his return to the PGA Tour(Image: Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
Brooks Koepka is making a change that he hopes will help him in his return to the PGA Tour.
Throughout the Farmers Insurance Open, Koepka’s putts left much to be desired, with the 35-year-old carding numerous bogeys, ultimately finishing T56 at four-under. Justin Rose won the tournament in dominant fashion, finishing seven shots better than the result of the field.
As he looks to regain his form at the WM Phoenix Open, the former LIV Golf star is making a drastic change in his return to the PGA Tour. The move came as J.J. Spaun withdrew from the tournament due to unspecified reasons.
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Heading into the WM Phoenix Open, Koepka has changed from a blade-type putter to a mallet-style putter. Of note, he will be switching to the TaylorMade Spider putter, according to the Golf Channel’s Eamon Lynch.
Among others, both Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler had made the switch to a mallet-style putter in the past, with the results speaking for themselves. In particular, Scheffler won the Masters not long after making the switch, showing just how effective he was by changing putter styles to a more forgiving model.
Regarding his putting issues during the Farmers Insurance Open, as he looks ahead to the WM Phoenix Open, Koepka opined, according to Golf Digest: “It can’t get worse, right?
Scottie Scheffler made a putter change in 2024, which helped him achieve better results in the tournaments that followed(Image: Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
“Game feels good. I think putting is probably last in the field, but never really putted well here. Don’t know the answer to it right now. I’ll probably try to figure that out when I’m done with you guys. But I’m very happy with everything. Seems to be lining up, so I’m very pleased.”
Despite his poor play on the greens at Torrey Pines, Koepka chalked up his rough outing to only himself. “These greens are actually really, really good,” he stated. “It has nothing to do with the greens; it’s all me.”
Although Koepka’s form was not where he would like it to be, some on the tour, such as Matt Fitzpatrick, have made it clear what they think of the 35-year-old’s return.
“Obviously, you know, it was great to have him brought back and I really like Patrick [Reed] as well,” the English star exclusively told Mirror US Sports.
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“I’ve played plenty with him over the years and it’s only going to make the PGA Tour stronger, obviously. I look forward to having them back. There’s obviously a few other things that probably need sorting out, but yeah, we’ll see what happens.”
Akshay Bhatia also chimed in, calling Koepka’s return “great.”
“You know, I think it’s great for the game. It is an interesting one, because, you know, when the Tour was having discussions, it was, obviously, some people had their opinions on how it should be handled,” he told Mirror US Sports exclusively. “Yeah, I think we found a good balance.
“I think him having to pay money for charity was great, because some guys wanted that, you know, but at least it’s going towards a good cause. And, again, he’s won five majors. He’s earned a lot, and it’s great, but it’s definitely, like, interesting… because we’ve said no one can come back. Right. Obviously, you know, we have a lot of trust in everyone higher up than us players.”