Brooks Koepka could also be one in every of 17 gamers beneath par at The Open Championship, however he is aware of the problem is way from over at Royal Troon. He is likely one of the fortunate ones, as many golfers struggled in these circumstances.
Kopeka signed for a 1-under 70 with 5 birdies and 4 bogeys on Thursday. He trails chief Daniel Brown by 5 after the Englishman shot a 6-under 65.
“I didn’t assume I hit it superb,” Koepka stated.
“I putted fairly effectively as we speak, which saved me in it. However wasn’t too excited concerning the ball-striking.”
That stated, the LIV Golf captain didn’t present any excuses. The entire subject needed to take care of the tough climate and difficult circumstances.
“It’s what it’s. Everyone has received to play it,” Koepka stated.
“It’s not something we haven’t performed in earlier than. Simply exit and go play… Look, there’s numerous good gamers, and after they play effectively, you’ll be able to [only] management your ball. Hyperlinks golf, for those who’re artistic sufficient, you could find other ways to get it close to the outlet.”
After beginning 2-over by his first three holes, Koepka fired off 4 straight birdies to shoot up the leaderboard.
“Made a bunch of dangerous swings early the primary three holes,” he defined.
“Then, discovered one thing there, and while you get sizzling, you get sizzling. It was good to roll that putt in and see an precise birdie [on the 4th]. Then the 3-iron [on 5], imagine it or not, I mis-hit it slightly bit, and it discovered its means near the outlet. That’s hyperlinks golf. You may get an excellent bounce. It ended up all proper.”
He virtually aced the par-3 fifth. Koepka referred to as that the most effective shot he had hit of the day regardless of mis-hitting it.
The fifth was the second-hardest gap on the golf course throughout the first spherical, so he picked up greater than a stroke on the sector by making a birdie there. It’s his first time taking part in Royal Troon, as he didn’t tee it up within the 2016 Open.
Koepka acknowledged that the again 9 may get even tougher if the climate worsens, however he doesn’t care concerning the circumstances.
“It doesn’t matter. You’ve nonetheless received to exit and play, so go play,” Koepka stated.
The 9-time PGA Tour winner tees off Friday at 4:14 a.m. ET with Hideki Matsuyama and Wyndham Clark as he seems to be to win his sixth profession main.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Taking part in By. For extra golf protection, observe us @_PlayingThrough on all main social platforms. You may as well observe her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.