One might look at Brooks Koepka’s opening three rounds at the Masters, 70-69-69, and call the effort steady. Koepka had a different s-word in mind.
Sloppy.
“Just giving away shots,” he said. “Not really doing anything good. Made some dumb mistakes – 5 and 6, you can’t do that.”
So far this week, Koepka, who stands at 8 under and is tied for 10th, has played those two holes in 3 over. He bogeyed both on Saturday afternoon. Note that by Saturday afternoon, the par-4 fifth, Magnolia, was playing as the hardest hole on the golf course.
Koepka hit his approach long, over the back of a left pin. He left a chip short and just missed his par attempt. On No. 6, the par 3, he flared his approach right and left himself a monster putt from the top tier of the green. He three-putted from there.
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Asked whether the self-described sloppiness was a product of not being comfortable or not being focused, Koepka indicated he was struggling to shape shots in the intended direction.
“Just sometimes I feel like it’s going to cut and it draws,” he said. “It’s just slightly out. It’s not out by much, but it’s enough to make a difference.”
Despite Nos. 5 and 6 being the lowlights, at least in Koepka’s mind, there were highlights, too. After a string of subsequent pars, he birdied the 12th and eagled the 15th.
On No. 15, Koepka hit a 215-yard 5-iron to inside 10 feet.
He had made birdie on Nos. 2 and 3, too.
A year ago, the Florida native finished in a tie for second along with Dustin Johnson and Xander Schauffele. He will enter Sunday eight shots behind Johnson, the 54-hole leader, and would need a Herculean effort to get in the conversation.
“Yeah, you’ve got to shoot a low number,” Koepka said. “I think that’s pretty obvious. Go out, go play good, see what happens.”
