Andy North – Syndication Server

‘He’s a contract killer, simply:’ Brooks Koepka back to defend at PGA Championship (and why he could repeat)

“Here’s your assignment, go kill somebody this week. That’s how he approaches golf at major championships.”

LOUISVILLE – ESPN golf analyst Andy North has seen enough of Brooks Koepka and the clinical way that he has won five major championships in the last six years to deliver this assessment.

“He’s a contract killer, simply,” he said during a pre-PGA Championship media call on Friday. “He shows up to a major championship, opens his locker and there’s like the ‘Mission Impossible’ thing: ‘Here’s your assignment, go kill somebody this week.’ That’s how he approaches golf at major championships. I love it.”

One year ago, Koepka, 34, completed a remarkable return to glory, shooting 3-under 67 at Oak Hill in the final round to win the PGA Championship by two strokes over Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler. In doing so, Koepka became the 20th player to win at least five majors, and joined Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to win the Wanamaker Trophy three times in the stroke-play era.

But the narrative surrounding Koepka before his victory was a very different one. He was battling injuries, had taken the money and run to LIV Golf and was thought to be washed up. Moreover, despite winning both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship twice heading into last year’s PGA, Koepka had played small in some big spots – rinsing his tee shot at the 2019 Masters and finishing second to Tiger Woods, squandering a final-round lead to Phil Mickelson at the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah’s Ocean Course and blowing a 54-hole lead at the 2023 Masters by shooting a 74 and tying for second as Jon Rahm slipped into the Green Jacket.

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Three major failures in a row since his last triumph was more than a coincidence; it was a disconcerting pattern that gnawed at Koepka. ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt bumped into Koepka on the Monday of last year’s PGA at Oak Hill and said Koepka was still pissed about his Masters failure.

“He’s like, ‘I’m never going to do that again.’ I said, ‘Meaning what?’ ” Van Pelt recounted. “He felt like he got a little conservative and then Rahm got him, and when he tried to put his foot on the gas, there was nothing there. He didn’t have it.”

In Koepka’s words, he had “choked.” His swing coach, Claude Harmon III told him that this was simply the beginning of Brooks 2.0. “If this is the second phase of your career, it’s a helluva start,” Harmon said.

But Koepka took the defeat hard and said he didn’t sleep the night after the Masters. Instead, he went back to his rental house and, according to a recent Q&A with Golfweek, received what he called the best piece of advice he’s ever been given.

Brooks Koepka acknowledges the crowd after his birdie on the 17th hole at the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club. (Photo: Jamie Germano/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)

“As you can imagine, after losing, you don’t always want to see everybody, but I sat out back with my best friend for six or seven hours and I will never forget the moment when he said: ‘Don’t ever be afraid to win,’ ” Koepka recalled.

After much soul-searching, he came to the conclusion that the only thing that truly matters when you get knocked down is how you respond.

“Thought about it for a few days after and really honed in on what I was doing and what went wrong,” Koepka said ahead of last year’s PGA Championship. “From there just never let it happen again. That’s the whole goal, right?”

Koepka held a one-stroke lead heading into the final round of the 2023 PGA after shooting 72-66-66. A month after his Masters letdown, he was ruthless in crunch time. He raced out of the gate, making three consecutive birdies from inside 10 feet starting at the second hole to build a four-stroke lead. He dropped shots at Nos. 6, where he drove in the water, and No. 7. Hovland remained hot on his heels until late in the championship.

But there would be no letup on the second nine. Koepka stuck his approach at No. 10 to 8 feet and rolled in the putt. After a bogey at 11, he knocked his second shot from the rough to 11 feet at the next hole and poured in the birdie putt. After Hovland made birdie at No. 13, Koepka sank a delicate 10-foot downhiller for par to protect a one-stroke lead.

This time, he kept the gas down, nearly driving the 14th green to set up another birdie. Hovland finally blinked at 16, driving into a fairway bunker and embedding his second shot into the lip of the bunker en route to a double bogey. Koepka smelled blood and stuck his approach to 5 feet, making birdie to take a commanding four-stroke lead. It was over. Koepka signed for a 72-hole total of 9-under 271. With his hands on the Wanamaker Trophy for the third time, Koepka reflected on how failure at the Masters lead to his validating win at Oak Hill.

“I definitely wouldn’t have, I don’t think, won today if that didn’t happen, right?” he said in the aftermath, but as for what specifically he learned from the defeat, he’s not telling. “Definitely take it and keep using it going forward for each event, each major, any time I’m in contention, but I’m not going to share. I can’t give away all the secrets.”

Koepka 2.0 may just be getting started. Heading to Valhalla, Harmon said Koepka is as well-prepared as ever to chase more majors. The hunger remains to get to double-digit majors. “If you can’t get up for the biggest events, I don’t know, I think there’s something wrong with you,” Koepka said at the Masters.

In his only previous start at the Louisville course, at the 2014 PGA, Koepka finished with rounds of 66 and 67 to place 15th. At the Masters in April, he failed to break par in any round and was a non-factor, but he won in his most recent start on LIV, regaining his touch on the greens. North, for one, wouldn’t bet against him to repeat at the PGA Championship as he did in 2018-19.

“He’s a completely different player four weeks a year than he is the other 48 weeks a year, and I love that about him,” North said. “I think the fact that he can raise his game at majors where most people’s games go the other way, that’s really a huge testament to him and his mental makeup and how he just determines that he’s going to beat everybody once he shows up at a major.”

Or as Harmon III put it, he likes climbing Mount Everest.

“He likes being in the death zone. Everybody says they like being up there. But you got to step over dead bodies to get to the top,” he said, “and then you got to step over dead bodies to get back down.”

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Tiger Woods’ chances at Masters 2023: Here’s what Brandel Chamblee, Trevor Immelman, Andy North and more have to say

Forget what will Phil do next? The more intriguing question is: What’s the next trick up Tiger’s sleeves?

Tiger’s opening-round 70 a year ago at Augusta National en route to making the cut was one of the most impressive rounds of 2022 when you consider that it was just some 13 months earlier that he was involved in a near-fatal car accident and could have lost his right leg.

Tiger’s game looked sharp in the first round of the Genesis Invitational at Riviera in February, his lone start in an official PGA Tour event since missing the cut at the British Open in July. It reinvigorated talk about the possibility of a 16th major title for Woods, who has slipped into the winner’s Green Jacket on five occasions, most recently in 2019 at age 43.

Tiger’s quest to get closer to Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 majors (and six Green Jackets) already has the TV talking heads buzzing. Here’s a snippet of what the CBS, ESPN and Golf Channel analysts had to say:

Brandel Chamblee, Golf Channel

How Tiger plays, I think, will captivate us beyond belief.

Notah Begay, Golf Channel

The fact that he was able to play (at the Genesis Invitational in February) at the level after basically being on the bench for six months, to come out and make a cut, I just can’t even get my mind around that.

Andy North, ESPN

To be able to get around there is so difficult. It’s just — for him it’s such an uphill battle. But in the back of your mind, you still believe that you get something rolling, you just never know.

Curtis Strange, ESPN

It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he got us on the edge of our seat for the first couple of days, but can he sustain it? I think that L.A. kind of just made me look forward more to the Masters because he’s still got something in that body.

Trevor Immelman, CBS

If he somehow finds a way to get his name in and around that leaderboard come the second nine on Sunday afternoon it will be all systems go out there.

Scroll below for their takes on Tiger at the Masters.

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ESPN’s Curtis Strange, Andy North & Scott Van Pelt weigh in on Scottie Scheffler ‘crying like a baby’ ahead of winning the Masters

ESPN’s golf broadcast team reacts to Scott Scheffler admitting he ‘cried like a baby’ ahead of the final round of the Masters.

Scottie Scheffler’s victory at the Masters was a watershed moment for the 25-year-old Texan who reached World No. 1 in March. But perhaps the most memorable moment of the week happened away from the course before Scheffler reached the first tee on Sunday and it wasn’t disclosed until he shared it with the world during his winner’s press conference.

“I cried like a baby this morning,” he said. “I was so stressed out. I didn’t know what to do. I was sitting there telling (wife) Meredith, ‘I don’t think I’m ready for this. I’m not ready, I don’t feel like I’m ready for this kind of stuff, and I just felt overwhelmed.’ She told me, ‘Who are you to say that you are not ready? Who am I to say that I know what’s best for my life?’ And so what we talked about is that God is in control and that the Lord is leading me; and if today is my time, it’s my time. And if I shot 82 today, you know, somehow I was going to use it for His glory. Gosh, it was a long morning. It was long.”

2022 Masters — Scottie Scheffler celebrates with his wife Meredith Scudder after winning the Masters golf tournament. (Photo: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports)

Scheffler went on to shoot 71 that afternoon and claim his first major. He’ll be one of the favorites at the 104^th PGA Championship next week at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Speaking on a media conference call, ESPN analysts Curtis Strange and Andy North and ESPN lead anchor Scott Van Pelt discussed Scheffler’s brutal honesty and what it reveals about a player who seemed cool, calm and collected in ripping off his first four wins over a span of six starts.

“That’s an honesty we don’t get very often. That, to me, was shocking that anybody admitted that that’s where they were. In today’s world of mental health and people understanding how important maybe letting those feelings be known,” said North, who has served as ESPN’s main golf analyst for nearly 30 years. “I thought it was quite amazing, but initially it was a little bit shocking that, whoa, in the old days, no one would ever admit to that. But I think that’s the beauty of so many of the younger players and athletes and people who are focusing on how important it is to have serious discussions about how you feel.”

“My first reaction is wow, why would you say something like that?” Strange said. “I’m not going to say I ever cried in the morning and almost was overcome with emotion, but I spent a long time in the bathroom more than once. Is that the same difference?”

Strange broke into laughter.

“Why would you say that?” Van Pelt interjected. “You’ve got a problem with a guy sharing his emotions? You’re telling people that you were on a toilet? No one wants to hear that.”

More laughter ensued.

“I thought it was awesome, Curtis, because here’s a guy that he has such a maturity that belies his age, and his outward, what he projects is that nothing fazes him,” Van Pelt said. “But here he is on that morning, and I think it’s that epiphany, that holy bleep moment. I’m in the last group, and I’m No. 1 in the world, and I’m supposed to win. Well, what if I don’t? Or am I really ready to do all this?”

“He was in Butler Cabin on Friday night,” Van Pelt continued, “and I asked him, I said, ‘Look, when you won in Phoenix and you won in Bay Hill, match play is different, but you weren’t leading.’ There’s a weight that comes with leading. I said, ‘I’m not trying to sell you on it’s bad to be up five on Friday. Of course it’s not. But now there’s expectation, and everyone’s looking at you.’

“It seems like come Sunday morning that weight landed firmly in his lap. I thought it was just fantastic that he shared how heavy it was. Then how did he respond? There he was in the Green Jacket. I just thought it gave you context that a guy who hadn’t shared with us much that he felt those things, and here he shared it with the world. Maybe it’s easier to do that when you’re wearing the jacket because now you can be truly honest about it. I thought it was really cool.”

It was certainly a revelation no one saw coming from Scheffler.

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How Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, other pros prep for Augusta National’s speedy, slopey greens

Here are some stories of what golfers do to prep for arguably the toughest set of greens they’ll face all year.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The week before Tiger Woods played in the Masters for the first time as an amateur in 1995, he practiced for Augusta National’s lightning-fast greens by putting on Stanford’s basketball court.

Ernie Els famously practiced on a billiards table to which Stewart Cink said, “My ceilings aren’t high enough for me to putt on my pool table otherwise I would too.”

Others have settled for the smooth concrete of their garage. Then there’s the possibly apocryphal story of players trying to simulate the speed of the Augusta greens by putting in a bath tub. Something tells us Bryson DeChambeau tried this or something even wackier.

When TPC Sawgrass superintendent Jeff Plotts was asked if the pros that practice there ask him to ratchet up the green speed on the practice green ahead of the Masters, he said, “Get it all the time.”

Here are some of the stories of the rude awakening pros experienced their first time at Augusta National and what they do to prep for arguably the toughest set of greens the pros face all year.

ESPN’s Curtis Strange, Andy North & SVP weigh in on Tiger Woods’ potential return to the Masters

The golf world is abuzz with anticipation that Tiger Woods could play at the Masters next week for the first time since being involved in a single-car crash.

ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt was texting with a PGA Tour pro on Tuesday and joked that if Tiger Woods plays in the Masters next week the rest of the field could play in the nude and no one would know that they were even there.

“I’m kidding, obviously,” said Van Pelt, who will host ESPN’s coverage of the first two rounds of the Masters from Augusta National, April.

“No, you’re not,” ESPN analyst Curtis Strange shot back.

The golf world – nay, the sports world – is abuzz with anticipation that Woods could play for the first time since being involved in a single-car crash last February that could have ended his life and nearly required his right leg to be amputated. Woods flew in his private plane to Augusta, Ga., on Tuesday along with son Charlie, and reportedly played 18 holes.

“It changes everything,” Van Pelt conceded, of the coverage of the first men’s major of the year. “He’s the singular player in the sport. There’s people tracking his plane yesterday like it’s an SEC (conference) coaching search, and just the idea of him going up there and what’s going on and is he going to try, and if he plays, then that becomes its own lane of coverage. It’s Tiger. We all know what he is and what he represents, and if he’s going to try to play after what happened and the car accident – by the way, fellas, it’s not just him playing a tournament, it’s him playing the Masters Tournament. It would be quite something from a coverage standpoint.”

Masters Tournament 2020 — Tiger Woods plays a shot on the first hole during the second round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on November 13, 2020, in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo: Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Speculation is running rampant that Woods will play for the first time since competing in the PNC Championship in December, a two-man scramble with his son. That was contested on a flat Florida course in which he was allowed to ride in a cart. Augusta National, in contrast, is considered the toughest walk on Tour. In multiple interviews during the Genesis Invitational in February, Woods dismissed any talk that he could return as early as April for the Masters and conceded that his recovery was proceeding slower than he expected. But there he was in Augusta, spending the day testing his surgically-repaired leg that had a rod inserted into his right tibia to determine if he can walk the hilly terrain.

“I’m so excited that he looks like he’s putting forth an effort to think about it and test his body. Is he going to play? We have no idea. But it looks like he’s testing himself, and that is a good thing, and how else would you test yourself other than to go walk and play and get up there and play some practice rounds and see if you can walk the golf course, see how the leg holds up, see how the game is,” Strange said. “When you practice and walk and work out at home, it’s a different animal than when you get to the site and walk the golf course, which is the hardest walk in golf, Augusta National, and walk the golf course and put yourself in that element and that atmosphere, and I applaud him for trying because he’s got to start somewhere if he’s going to play again.”

When Van Pelt noted that how Tiger felt when he woke up after playing Augusta National likely is more relevant in the decision-making process for Woods than how he felt during the round on Tuesday, ESPN analyst Andy North weighed in.

“Can he even get out of bed this morning?” North wondered. “Because it’s one thing to do it that one day, but to do it four days in a row, on this golf course – I struggled on this golf course all the time walking around, and what he’s gone through, I think it’s marvelous that he’s giving it his best effort.”

Woods is a five-time winner at the Masters, and claimed his 15^th Masters title when he came from behind on the back nine to don the Green Jacket once more in 2019. Woods last played in the Masters in November 2020, when he made a 10 on the 12^thhole in the final round, his highest score on any hole during his career. He rebounded to birdie five of the last six holes.

“Having known him as long as we have, the thought that he went down to his place in Florida and grinded his butt off to give himself a chance doesn’t surprise me, and it shouldn’t,” Van Pelt said. “I long ago stopped trying to define what a successful week would look like for this dude.

“Now, you can roll your eyes at ‘I only compete if I think I can win’ and should a 46-year-old man play on a compromised leg, and let’s not forget a fused back, should he think he should win? Well, no, not reasonably, but it isn’t reasonable that a guy with a fused back in 2019 beat all those guys that he beat. I’m not putting any limits on him if he’s able to play. But I’m very surprised based on what I thought I knew that the possibility not a week out exists that he could play.”

“To be in this position where people are actually talking about this guy might actually play in the Masters, I think that’s amazing,” North added.

“He likes challenges, doesn’t he?” Strange said rhetorically. “This is certainly going to be a challenge. I look forward to it. I hope he plays. It’ll certainly be an exciting week.”

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A month after a fire burned down the clubhouse, USGA announces eight future events to be held at Oakland Hills, including four majors

The USGA will host eight events at Oakland Hills over the next 29 years.

A month after a devastating fire burned down the famed clubhouse at Oakland Hills Country Club, the United States Golf Association had some good news about a long-term strategic partnership with the club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

The USGA announced on Tuesday that Oakland Hills would host eight of its championships over the next 29 years, including four major championships announced in January: the U.S. Women’s Open in 2031 and 2042 and the U.S. Open in 2034 and 2051. The additional events: 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur, 2029 U.S. Women’s Amateur, 2038 U.S. Girls Junior Amateur and the 2047: U.S. Amateur.

“This is a significant and meaningful day for all of us at Oakland Hills,” said Rick Palmer, club president. “The commitment of two U.S. Opens as well as four top amateur championships is a testament to the fabulous work of everyone at Oakland Hills. With a total of eight USGA championships coming to our club starting in 2024, we can’t wait to add to our storied history. We look forward to continuing our championship golf tradition at Oakland Hills and our long-standing relationship with the USGA.”

Oakland Hills has hosted 11 USGA championships in its history, including six U.S. Opens. The event’s return in 2034 will celebrate the club’s 110-year history with the USGA. Oakland Hills will become the fifth club to have hosted a U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur, while Pebble Beach will do the same in 2023.

“We could not be happier to bring six additional championships to such an iconic venue as Oakland Hills,” said John Bodenhamer, USGA chief championships officer. “Since its first U.S. Open in 1924, Oakland Hills has provided a supreme test for the game’s very best, and it will continue to do so for professionals and amateurs alike in the coming years.”

In September of 2020 the USGA named Pinehurst as an anchor site for future championships, and did the same at last summer’s U.S. Amateur when it announced Oakmont as a second anchor site and unveiled a stout lineup of future championships across Pennsylvania. The 2034 U.S. Open was originally announced to be held at Oakmont, but will now be held at Oakland Hills.

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Masters: ESPN golf analysts on Tiger Woods’ absence, Dustin Johnson’s defense and stories from the gift shop

ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt, Curtis Strange and Andy North on Tiger Woods’ absence, Dustin Johnson’s defense and stories from the Masters shop.

Curtis Strange remembers a quiet atmosphere while walking the grounds of Augusta National Golf Club last fall.

“It was completely different from start to finish,” said the two-time major champion and ESPN golf analyst about the November Masters, won by Dustin Johnson. “When we went on air and the red light came on, we tried to act as normal as possible, and I think we did a good job because it was the start of the Masters, but it was different.”

It’s difficult to remember what “normal” life was before the COVID-19 pandemic. From a golf perspective, fans are getting a bit of a refresher with the build up to next week’s Masters at Augusta National Golf Club.

“Without patrons, it lost a lot of its soul, there’s no question about that,” said ESPN’s golf and SportsCenter host Scott Van Pelt. “I do think it will feel far more familiar and ‘normal’ this next week, even as so many things we typically do won’t.”

As the first men’s major championship of the season returns to its spring position on the schedule, Strange, Van Pelt and Andy North joined a group of reporters on a conference call to preview the event and discuss what changes they expect to see in this year’s tournament compared to the fall.

Tiger and DJ

You can’t talk about, or even think about, Augusta National or the Masters for long without the 2019 champion, Tiger Woods, coming up.

The five-time Masters champ is still recovering — now at home — from a February car crash near Los Angeles after hosting the Genesis Invitational. Woods’ fractures from the crash are on the upper and lower parts of both the fibula and tibia, where a rod was inserted to stabilize the area. Screws and pins were used to treat other injuries in the ankle and foot, while doctors sliced muscle in the area to relieve pressure and swelling in the area (a safeguard against infection).

“I think (at Augusta), more than any other place they play, you think of Tiger. So much of his career sprang through that lens. From that bookend in ’97 hugging his father to ’19 hugging his children in essentially the same spot. You can’t help but think about him,” said Van Pelt. “I think because he’s won there and Tuesday with the Champions Dinner, you get together with that very small group and trade the stories and what have you, that his presence will be sorely missed.”

Dustin Johnson: How he uses a short memory and mental island

The conversation moved from the 2019 to the 2020 champion, Dustin Johnson, and his chances of defending his title just five months later.

“There’s not much that bothers him,” said Strange. “As I was talking to Butch Harmon yesterday, he said, ‘You know, he hasn’t played great the last three times out, no worry. No worries at all.’”

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The Masters shop

Entering the Masters shop and leaving with a loaded bag is a rite of passage for anyone who’s been lucky enough to take a trip down Magnolia Lane.

North, a two-time major winner who’s best finish at Augusta was a T-12 in 1979, said he doesn’t go in the shop, “but my wife sure does.”

“Every year she comes back with more stuff than I can even imagine,” said North with a laugh. “But it is pretty cool. That logo is a pretty darn famous logo. From a gift standpoint, if you’re giving that to somebody, they usually appreciate it.”

Strange’s oldest son and daughter-in-law are in town this week, and he’s refusing to even look at his credit card statement. Van Pelt once left an entire bag of gear in an overheard compartment of an airplane. Everybody’s got a story from the shop.

“You just think you’ve got to be done. Who else could I need something for? Then every year, you’re like, ‘that’s a handsome quarter zip. Mom kind of likes that visor,’” explained Van Pelt, who spent $200-plus on ball markers to give away to friends and family.

“It’s every year. It’s a tradition unlike any other.”

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