Brooks Koepka could also be considered one of 17 gamers beneath par at The Open Championship, however he is aware of the problem is much 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 mentioned.
“I putted fairly nicely immediately, which stored me in it. However wasn’t too excited concerning the ball-striking.”
That mentioned, 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. All people has acquired to play it,” Koepka mentioned.
“It’s not something we haven’t performed in earlier than. Simply exit and go play… Look, there’s a whole lot of good gamers, and once they play nicely, you possibly can [only] management your ball. Hyperlinks golf, should you’re artistic sufficient, you will discover alternative ways to get it close to the opening.”
After beginning 2-over by his first three holes, Koepka fired off 4 straight birdies to shoot up the leaderboard.
“Made a bunch of unhealthy 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 a little bit bit, and it discovered its method near the opening. That’s hyperlinks golf. You will get a great 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 in the course of the first spherical, so he picked up greater than a stroke on the sector by making a birdie there. It’s his first time enjoying Royal Troon, as he didn’t tee it up within the 2016 Open.
Koepka acknowledged that the again 9 might get even more durable if the climate worsens, however he doesn’t care concerning the circumstances.
“It doesn’t matter. You’ve nonetheless acquired to exit and play, so go play,” Koepka mentioned.
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 win his sixth profession main.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Taking part in By way of. For extra golf protection, comply with us @_PlayingThrough on all main social platforms. You can too comply with her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.
