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Royal St. George’s isn’t Brooks Koepka’s cup of tea.
“It’s not my favorite venue that we’ve played,” the four-time major champion said Tuesday of the links in Sandwich, England, that rests near the sea southeast of London and is hosting the 149th edition of the British Open. “Quite a few blind tee shots, kind of hitting to nothing. Fairways are quite undulating. I don’t know, it’s not my favorite of the rotation, put it that way.”
No, his favorites would be the Old Course at St. Andrews, which he said is likely his favorite place in the world to play golf, and Royal Portrush. Still, his distaste for Royal St. George’s – which many players have called quirky and plays to a par of 70 stretched over 7,189 yards – won’t get to him as he tries to add a Claret Jug to his major haul.
“I’ve won on golf courses that I’m not a big fan of before,” he said. “It has nothing to do with it. Still got to get up and go hit the shot and do what I’m supposed to do, so that doesn’t bug me. I don’t care whether I like the place, don’t like it.
“(Royal St. George’s), it’s just not as exciting. I don’t know why. Whether it be a couple shots to nothing, a couple blind tee shots or shots in where you can’t really see much. I’m not too big of a fan of that.”
Ironically, on a vacation in 2003 that included a stop at Royal St. George’s for the final round of the Open Championship, kid Koepka fell in love with links golf. With his mother and brother, Chase, who also plays professional golf, the three played St. Andrews and Carnoustie and watched the final round when Ben Curtis shocked the golf world in winning the oldest championship in golf.
“I’ve always enjoyed coming over here. I’ve always enjoyed playing links golf. I think it takes a lot of creativity and imagination,” Koepka said. “In the States a lot of times you just throw it up high in the air and the ball is going to stop, where (in links golf) you’ve really got to pay attention where the ball is going to bounce into the green. You might have 50 yards, but you’ve got about six clubs you could play.
“I think that’s fun. It brings out the creative side. I love it.”
Koepka, however, got scolded by his mother on the trip. As they watched the final round of the 2003 Open – Chase even had a brief exchange with Tiger Woods on the back nine – Koepka got tired.
“I ended up falling asleep right in the little pavilion to the right of 18 and didn’t even see the finish,” he said. “I remember getting yelled at by my mom; I didn’t bring you over here to fall asleep kind of deal. But it was fun. We enjoyed the whole trip, and it was a cool family trip.”
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Koepka has been criticized a few times for seemingly falling asleep at regular PGA Tour events. He has acknowledged having trouble at times getting up for tournaments of the non-major caliber. His focus, he says, is not as sharp; while he won the 2017 and 2018 U.S. Opens and the 2018 and 2019 PGA Championships, he’s won just four other PGA Tour events, including this year’s Waste Management Phoenix Open.
In the British Open, he has three top-10s in six starts.
“It’s a major, so I’ll be up for it,” he said. “It’s a different feeling. It’s just more focused, more locked in on what I need to do, no distractions. I don’t know, I just simplify everything, and it becomes a lot easier.
“Maybe I always don’t have the best of prep coming into this. But I feel good. I feel my game feels solid. I like the way I’m hitting it right now, and I’m definitely more comfortable than I’ve been in years past coming over.”
Royal St. George’s ranks No. 9 on Golfweek’s Best list of classic courses built before 1960 in Great Britain and Ireland. The course, designed by Laidlaw Purves and opened in 1887, hosted 14 British Opens before this year’s.