LIV Golf’s Brooks Koepka re-discovers hump in finest PGA Championship tune-up

Wager who has his hump serve.

By 36 holes on the Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore, Brooks Koepka holds a three-shot lead over Thomas Pieters and Adrian Meronk in LIV Golf’s seventh match of the season.

“Honest roughly finding my own little hump,” Koepka acknowledged after his Saturday 7-beneath 64.

“Happy with the trend I’ve performed up to now and splendid wish to crawl one other fair correct spherical.”

Within the weeks main as much as this match in Singapore, Koepka has no longer been at his excellent, commence air of a up-to-the-minute 10th-location enact at LIV Golf Adelaide. He tied for 45th at Augusta Nationwide, a consequence he called an “embarrassment.”

“I mediate Augusta used to be an even be-careful call. I’ve had to in actuality grind since then,” Koepka acknowledged.

“That in actuality kicked things into overdrive for me. I in actuality comprise had to put my nose down and grind a little bit bit tougher. I even had to search my crew within the glimpse and disclose sorry. I’m no longer taking a explore to make that all as soon as more.”

Verbalize by Jason Butler/Getty Photos

The extra prepare since then has paid off, as Koepka has performed seriously higher since his depressed exhibiting on the 2024 Masters.

He attributes this to his ball-striking, which has vastly improved.

“Ball-striking is within the waste beginning to reach around. The putter is heating up a little bit bit. I mediate that’s splendid attributable to seeing some higher golf shots,” Koepka acknowledged.

“That’s roughly the contrivance it’s always worked for me. If I verbalize fair correct striking it, you comprise about a more alternatives and about a more higher appears to be like to be like. Rather than being 30 feet, it could well well additionally be 15, which united statesyour potentialities seriously. That plays a colossal fragment, to be real with you.”

Koepka’s first birdie of the spherical came on the par-5 4th, the put the 5-time significant winner threaded a 3-wood through a verbalize of palm bushes and onto the inexperienced in two.

“It’s a bigger gap than folks doubtlessly mediate,” Koepka acknowledged of that shot.

“I had to commence it successfully splendid of the flag, so I felt confident I might perhaps well well additionally commence it somewhere on the inexperienced. It’s always a bigger gap than it appears to be like to be like.”

On the next hole, the signature hole at Sentosa, Koepka stuck an 8-iron to 6 feet and drained the putt. The comfy prerequisites—thanks to a four-hour climate lengthen—allowed the self-discipline to assault every pin, and Koepka took stout advantage.

Verbalize by Jason Butler/Getty Photos

One other birdie adopted on the sixth hole, and , he sat at 8-beneath par and held a portion of the lead.

Koepka settled down barely after that, making six straight pars to live at 8-beneath.

However more fireworks went off on the par-4 13th, one of the crucial most spicy holes on the direction. Koepka drained a 53-footer with relating to 6 feet of smash to find to 9-beneath, which gave him all kinds of momentum.

On the next hole, Koepka relating to made an ace on the 180-yard par-3 and rapid got to 10-beneath.

Two more birdies adopted on 16 and 18, the latter of which came thanks to a 20-foot form.

“I splendid wished to exit and play fair correct golf, and that’s all I wish to make, especially main into the PGA,” Koepka added.

Koepka is rounding into form on the splendid time, with the PGA Championship now handiest two weeks away. He’s going to approach at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, as the defending champion, taking a explore to efficiently defend a vital title for the third time in his career.

However forward of he can fully point of curiosity on winning a fourth Wanamaker Trophy, Koepka has a job to enact in Singapore, the put a fourth career LIV Golf victory is successfully inside reach.

Jack Milko is a golf workers writer for SB Nation’s Taking part in By. Be sure to envision out @_PlayingThrough for more golf protection. You might perhaps well well prepare him on Twitter @jack_milko as successfully.