PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla—Brooks Koepka shot a second-straight four-over 74 Friday to miss the cut at the Honda Classic. It was his worst 36-hole start since the same tournament three years ago.
“I struck it really well,” the 29-year-old four-time major champion said, despite hitting just 10 greens and being more than two strokes in the black on strokes gained/approach. “Really pleased with how I’m hitting it.
“I just haven’t putted well, and every time I have missed one, I’ve hit some good shots, but I just end up in the worst place possible. It is very easy out here to turn a decent round into what can be a little bit of a disaster and you can rack up some big numbers pretty quick.”
To the latter point, he is correct. Koepka’s putting was not good in any capacity as he ranked near the bottom of the field in strokes gained/on the greens over the first two days of the tournament. Also, PGA National routinely rates near the top of the list of toughest courses on the PGA Tour and with brisk temperatures and a steady breeze this year has been no exception.
Since having a stem cell procedure on his left knee in September, Koepka’s results have been shaky — MC, WD, T-34, T-17, T-43 and another MC at the Honda. But Koepka said his knee is fine. To that end, he’ll tee it up each of the next four weeks, which should also allow him to find some rhythm in his game.
“Everything is good,” he said. “No complaints. It has nothing to do with my knee.”
Koepka’s putting has been another story, though. As he noted after his round, it’s something he has struggled with since the end of last year, which is why he has tweaked his grip.
Now the putts just need to drop.
“I struck it really well on the putting green, but then it’s another thing when the gun goes off,” he said. “I think every golfer kind of knows that, and you can feel a little bit different.”