LostGolfBalls.com BLOG

Information and tips on everything golf ball related from the largest recycler of used golf balls in the world

Koepka Starts Off New Season With An Interesting Admission

Read More →

Posts by Tag

see all
All Posts

Koepka Starts Off New Season With An Interesting Admission

Koepka-RBCImage Source: PGA Tour

If nothing else, Brooks Koepka (Titleist Pro V1x) is not dull.

Earlier in the week before teeing off Thursday in the first round of the Shriners Hospital For Children Open In Las Vegas, his first tournament of the 2019-20 season, Koepka admitted he couldn’t practice last year because of a partially torn patella tendon in his left knee.

And all along there was the suggestion, which he created, that Koepka didn’t need to practice; that he was that good. It was the kind of off-the-cuff admission that seemed to suggest he was that much better than any other member of the PGA Tour.

Following his historic win in the Masters back in April, Tiger Woods (Bridgestone Tour B XS) had to limit his practice schedule the rest of the season because of his on-going knee issues.

In August, he underwent a procedure on his left knee, the fifth time he had undergone surgery on that knee. A month later he was fully cleared to practice. He is scheduled to play his first tournament of the 2019-20 season in the Zozo Championship in Japan later this month.

Woods told an amusing story this year prior to The Open that Koepka passed on a request to practice with him. Perhaps the reason was Koepka wasn’t practicing in general because of his wonky knee.

The funny thing is if Koepka had a terrible 2018-19 season, the injury could have been an excuse, but he won three of 21 tournaments, notably repeating in the PGA Championship, to increase his career major victories total to four, while also finishing second in the U.S. Open, tying for second in the Masters and Honda Classic, tying for third in the Tour Championship and tying for fourth in the Open Championship.

Overall, he had seven top three finishes, nine top-10 and missed only one cut.

If he was 100% healthy, how good could he have been?

I’ll never understand how the PGA Tour members voted Rory McIlroy (TaylorMade TP5x) as player of the year over Koepka. Granted, McIlroy had a good year, highlighted by his victory in the Tour Championship. Overall, he has three wins and one second, 14 top-10 finishes and made the cut in 17 of 19 tournaments. Those stats don’t measure up to Koepka, specifically in the four majors.

So if Koepka is fully healthy this year, there’s no telling how good he will be?

 
Perry Lefko
Perry Lefko
Perry Lefko is an award-winning writer who has published nine books, three of them bestsellers. He has been involved in sports writing for more than 35 years and has interviewed many superstar athletes. He lives in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada and enjoys watching golf and playing it.

Related Posts

Sudarshan Yellamaraju Put On Quite A Show

Before I talk about the thrilling finale of the 2026 Players Championship, I wanted to highlight Sudarshan Yellamaraju (Titleist Pro V1). Yellamaraju is a landed Canadian immigrant – I’m a Canadian by birth – and his hometown is Mississauga, which is where I am based, in the west end of Toronto. Up until last week, Yellamaraju was known only to the Canadian golf community, and even then, it was probably a limited audience. That will no longer be the case. His cover, so to speak, has been blown after he finished tied with Ludwig Aberg (Titleist Pro V1x) and Jacob Bridgeman (TaylorMade TP5X) for fifth.

Scottie Scheffler Is Clearly In A Slump

What’s wrong with Scottie Scheffler (Titleist Pro V1)? It’s become increasingly obvious that the world’s number one men’s player is clearly frustrated. He’s been showing visible signs of it for several weeks, but the most glaring example occurred after he bogeyed a makeable putt on his final shot of the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. After picking up his ball he threw it into the water. There was a noticeable murmur among the crowd, almost teetering on booing.

Should Equipment Changes Be Made Public in PGA Tour Events?

Should equipment changes be noted publicly before a player tees it up in a PGA Tour event? While that may sound crazy, it is common practice in horse racing. Some bettors want all the information they can get. With gambling now a big part of sports, I don’t think it’s a crazy idea. Already this year we saw Collin Morikawa (TaylorMade TP5x) winning an event with a putter borrowed from another player. Chris Gotterup (Bridgestone Tour B X with Mindset) won two tournaments this year after changing ball. And remember when Scottie Scheffler (Titleist Pro V1) went on a tear changing to a blade putter to a mallet putter?