This week’s LIV Golf Singapore event presents a tough challenge for defending champ Brooks Koepka and his struggling Smash GC teammates.
Koepka addressed the difficulty of the 7,406-yard layout at Sentosa Golf Club on Wednesday while also responding to rumors of a potential return to the PGA Tour.
“It’s a good golf course,” he said. “I think it challenges a bunch of different aspects of your game. You’ve got to drive it well out here, position yourself really nicely, and these greens are so good. You pretty much know if you’ve made — anything inside 8 feet, I’d say you really need to make it, otherwise you’re going to be losing strokes to the field.
“But it’s a good golf course. It’s a good test. It’s nice to finally play a tough golf course.”
Koepka, 34, said he remains confident that last-place Smash GC can turn things around.
“We haven’t played as well as we would have liked,” he said. “That’s pretty obvious. Look, you can’t say it’s due to hard work. Everybody has been doing what they’re supposed to do, and essentially the results are going to come. We have not played to our potential.”
Despite the underwhelming start, there have been some bright spots this season for Koepka, who leads the league in strokes gained putting.
“I kind of find that hard to believe, to be honest with you,” he said. “I didn’t putt very good in Saudi. I don’t think anybody did. Australia I putted well. Hong Kong I think I made one putt outside — I think those stats are a little skewed.”
Koepka will need to put his game together in a hurry if he’s going to make any noise at the Masters next month.
“I don’t really focus on trying to win, ” said Koepka. “I just go do what I’ve got to do, make sure my game is sharp coming around the four majors.”
The five-time major winner made the cut at all four events last year but finished no higher than T26.
“Yeah, last year I thought was a pretty down year,” Koepka said. “I didn’t think it was good. The major performances weren’t there. I never really felt like I was in complete control of my golf ball from tee to green. This year I feel a lot better ball striking-wise, short game-wise, putting-wise. Typically, I’m a slow starter. I’ve never gotten off any season I’ve played professionally to a hot start. Usually it takes a couple rounds just to get going. But we’re running out of time here for Augusta, so something better change.”
As for his return to the PGA Tour, that rumor gained momentum earlier this month when Fred Couples said during a radio interview that Koepka “really wants to come back.”
“Yeah, Fred texted me after, I guess, the comments came out. I don’t know when it was. Sometime last week. Yeah, everybody seems to have their own opinion and no one asks me,” Koepka said.
“I talked to Fred quite a bit, but we don’t go too much into detail about what’s going on. Like I’ve said before, I’m not in those rooms. I’ve got a contract obligation out here to fulfill, and then we’ll see what happens.
“I don’t know where I’m going, so I don’t know how everybody else does. Right now I’m just focused on how do I play better, how do I play better in the majors, how does this team win, and then we’ll figure out next year and how to play better again. It’s the same thing. It’s just a revolving cycle. I’ve got nothing. Everybody else seems to know more than I do.”
LIV Golf Singapore begins with Friday’s first round.
–Field Level Media
