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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Not since his tie for seventh at the November Masters has Brooks Koepka made a cut. That includes the last two weeks at the American Express and Farmers Insurance Open. Toss in the Mayakoba in December and Koepka missed three straight cuts for the first time in his career.
Nonetheless, he sounds confident about his game.
“I like the way I’ve been playing even though I haven’t scored worth a damn,” he said on Friday. “I felt good going into Palm Springs, felt good leaving it, and then at Torrey I still felt good. Sometimes results aren’t everything.”
This week at TPC Scottsdale, Koepka is producing results and he has snapped out of missed-cuts slump. He has posted scores of 68 and 66 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, an event he won for his first PGA Tour victory in 2015. He’s tied for eighth after 36 holes.
“You know it’s coming. You can feel it. It’s nice to be back. I know I’m 100 percent, feeling good,” he said.
Koepka really turned it on in the second round on Friday, stomping on the gas on No. 5, where he made the first of three straight birdies. A bogey on 11 was just a speedbump, as he birdied both of the back-nine par 5s—the 13th and the 15th—as well as the driveable par-4 17th. He closed his round with a par.
He’s at 8 under and will begin his third round four shots off the lead of Xander Schauffele, who sits at 12 under. Steve Stricker and Keegan Bradley are a shot back. Scottie Scheffler, Kyoung-Hoon Lee and Sam Burns are two back at 10 under.
Waste Management Phoenix Open: Photos | Leaderboard
Koepka says he’s getting a boost playing in front of fans once again.
“It’s just nice to play in front of fans. I mean, every time I played well it’s been in front of fans. I struggle with no fans,” he said. “I can’t get the energy. There is nothing. It’s kind of very flat.
“At the end of the day we are kind of entertainers. You know, it’s felt like going to play at home with my brother or my dad or buddies or something like that, and I’ll be honest, when I go play with them I play terrible as well. I need the mojo. I need the energy. You make a birdie, all right, there is a little bit of excitement. You know, bogey, there is a little bit of embarrassment. All right, let’s correct it real quick. It hasn’t been that way. It’s been very flat and ho-hum.”
Getting back in victory lane would be better than ho-hum for Koepka, who last won at the 2019 World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.
“I do know it’s been a long time so I’m itching to get a W.”
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