Brooks Koepka will make his third start of the young season at this week’s Mayakoba Classic, an event he put on his schedule for a second consecutive year for the first time.
Koepka has struggled to regain his No. 1 form following two injury-plagued seasons. And he has slipped to 13th in the Official World Golf Ranking following a T67 and a T38 in his first two starts of the season.
So while many of the world’s marquee players are playing only a select few events between the Tour Championship and the start of 2022, Koepka is trying to grind his way out of a slump.
“I’ve been playing so bad for so long, so I’m just trying to play my way out of this thing and figure it out,” the always candid Koepka said Wednesday. “You know, hopefully we come out the other side soon.”
Koepka doesn’t have a top-20 in six stroke-play events since a T6 at The Open Championship in July. That includes withdrawing from the Tour Championship due to a wrist injury.
Although he was able to return to play for Team USA in the Ryder Cup in September, Koepka’s game has been inconsistent for the past year.
He tied for seventh at the rescheduled 2020 Masters that was held in November. In 19 stroke-play events since, he has a win among six top-6 finishes. He also has six missed cuts and the WD. In the other six starts Koepka hasn’t sniffed contention, placing between T22 and T67.
Despite being the third highest-ranked player in the field this week behind No. 7 Justin Thomas and No. 11 Tony Finau, Koepka (+2500) is only the fifth betting favorite at DraftKings – behind Thomas (+1200), Abraham Ancer and Viktor Hovland at +1600 and Finau (+2000).
The one positive Koepka is leaning on is finally being healthy. That is allowing him to put in the practice time his body has been unable to withstand for the better part of two years.
“I’ve just been grinding, man,” he acknowledged. “It’s been tough. I mean, injuries for two years.
“Originally I wasn’t going to play this event, but I just, I’m not going to get any better sitting at home. I’d rather come out here and, not saying I’m trying to miss the cut, but if I miss the cut, at least I’ve put in work and maybe found something.
“Sometimes I’ve left tournaments with a missed cut and found something, or that one golf shot on the 17th hole, you hit it and you’ve got a feeling. That’s all you’re looking for, that one feeling and you almost seem like you’re on your way and just going on the right track. You never know, you could rattle off a good year, a good couple months, whatever it might be just from that one swing.”
–Field Level Media