PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. \u2014 At the Cognizant Classic, Brooks Koepka attracted the largest gallery despite starting the final round essentially out of contention.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And the fans constantly showered him with messages of \u201cwelcome back to the PGA Tour.\u201d Some more obnoxiously than others.<\/p>\n
Perhaps that\u2019s the only difference between his days on the Tour before joining LIV in 2022 and now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think a lot of [the adjustment from returning] was first week,\u201d Koepka said after his final-round 65 at PGA National. \u201cOnce you get inside the ropes, it feels natural. I think it\u2019s easier once you get inside those ropes. Once the first week, doing all the media stuff and getting all that out of the way, it was a huge thing for me, and now it\u2019s just a matter of going to play and build a rhythm.\u201d<\/p>\n
He certainly did that this week, in his third start since leaving LIV and being reinstated by the Tour. Koepka shot a first-round 74 and was outside 90th place. But after a putting adjustment<\/a> where he tweaked his hand position, he climbed the leaderboard the next three days and will record his best finish of the season, sitting T7 when the five-time major champion signed his scorecard.<\/p>\n There were several highlights, too. A 343-yard drive on the par-4 3rd, knocking an approach from 106 yards on the par-4 13th to 4 feet and holing a greenside bunker shot on the par-4 14th. <\/p>\n The perks of hitting a 343-yard drive @BKoepka<\/a> \ud83d\udcaa<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcfa @PGATOURLIVE<\/a> on ESPN+ pic.twitter.com\/7dfGjWp0Kd<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cPlayed really solid the last three days,\u201d said Koepka, who gained over two strokes with the putter this week, ranked 15th in the field after his 72 holes. \u201cDidn\u2019t quite hit it that great yesterday, but just controlling shots I think a lot better. Putter obviously has gotten better. I haven\u2019t looked at the stats, but just that little adjustment Thursday night made a huge difference. Finally found some confidence. I think that\u2019s the one thing that’s been lacking.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, he feels he can ride the momentum.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019ll carry over for sure. Honestly, it was just the putter. The putter, it felt like\u2014because I wasn\u2019t making any putts, I felt like I had to hit it to tap-in, so it was putting pressure on the iron play, maybe being more aggressive off the tee. So it was kind of backfiring that way. Just felt like I couldn’t hit it to the\u2014I\u2019ve always said, conservatively aggressive. I try to hit it 15 feet right and sometimes you just settle for par on a tough hole and you roll one in. \u2026 I think Thursday night was a bit of a breakthrough.\u201d<\/p>\n Koepka is not in next week\u2019s Arnold Palmer Invitational, as he is ineligible to receive sponsor exemptions into signature events as one of the conditions under the Returning Member Program<\/a>. So his next start will be the Players Championship in two weeks. He said he will get there Monday of tournament week to start prep, having not played at TPC Sawgrass since 2022.<\/p>\n More Golf from Sports Illustrated