Brooks Koepka needed to make up ground standing on the 9th tee at Harbour Town Golf Links. One hole shy of the halfway point of his final round at the RBC Heritage, he was four shots off the lead. A few miles away, storm clouds approached Hilton Head, S.C.
His stroke traveled all of the ground.
His tee shot covered the entire 329-yard hole in 11 seconds. It tricked a yard past, a 330-yard poke. He knocked in the 3-footer for eagle, his second of the front nine, moving him from four shots back of leaders Dylan Fritelli and Justin Thomas to two.
The weather horn sounded shortly after.
Koepka has needed just two weeks to return to form.
At last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge, the PGA Tour’s first tournament after its three-month hiatus due to the coronavirus, Koepka shot four rounds in the 60s and tied for 32nd. This week, he’s added another three 60s scores.
Before the break, Koepka had shot eight straight rounds in the 70s, including a career-worst 81 during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He went to Vegas before the first round of the Players Championship for a talk with legendary instructor Butch Harmon, the father of his coach, Claude Harmon III. There were questions that his surgically repaired left knee was troubling him.
The break was a blessing, he said last week before the Charles Schwab.
“I felt at The Players, it was starting to come around,” Koepka said. “I felt something positive. But right now, it’s a million times better. The swing feels like it’s in a great spot. I’m controlling ball flights, controlling spin, yardages, putting it good, chipping it good.
“I feel like a new person, honestly. The way I’m able to move right now is a lot better than I was three months ago, four months ago, and I’m excited. It really is going to be fun to tee it up again.”
