It’s no secret that Brooks Koepka is in incredible physical shape, not just for a golfer, but for any pro athlete. Even so, the intense workouts he puts himself through before tournament rounds are hard to believe.
Koepka fired a four-under 66 on Saturday in the sweltering Missouri heat to wrest control of the 2018 PGA Championship. That’s after he rode a stationary bike and completed a lifting session — “back and tri’s for about an hour” — with his trainers in the morning.
When prompted following his round, the two-time U.S. Open champion talked at length about his daily back-breaking fitness routines.
Koepka says he works out before every round and that he “push[es] it like every other day.” Sunday morning, before trying to win his second major of the year, Koepka is guessing his trainers will have him do a “full body day.”
“And then tomorrow I’ll probably say total body, just to make sure my body’s up and going, moving, moving right. That’s what will be my guess for tomorrow. Total body. But I have no idea,” Koepka said on Saturday.
If he does, it won’t be the first time he’s lifted all morning before a major win. He was bench-pressing Sunday at Shinnecock Hills.
“Like Sunday at the U.S. Open I did 225, 14 times. I know that’s not that impressive. But I can get 315. So, it’s all right. I don’t know. I guess. Yeah. Compared to some guys, you watch, if you go into these public gyms, and you see these guys, I mean, they have thrown up 350, no problem. And you’re just like, all right.”
It’s important to note that those other “guys” are probably not playing 18 holes under major championship pressure afterward, though.
If you’re wondering why the heck Koepka would tire himself out before important tournaments, he argues that the daily routine actually keeps him from wearing down.
“I don’t get sore. You don’t — if you’re working out every day you’re not going to be sore. But then if you take two weeks off, a week off of being in the gym and then come back, you’re going to be sore. But doing it every day, you’re not going, I don’t get sore.”
As for how he compares to friend and fellow exercise fiend Dustin Johnson, Koepka said, “I definitely can bench more than him. His legs are actually really, really strong. He can squat a lot. Yeah, he’s actually really impressive with his legs, his low body, the way he moves. It’s some serious weight. But I can’t touch him on legs.”
A win at Bellerive on Sunday (post-workout, of course) would put Koepka’s career major total at three, tying him with Jordan Spieth, and putting him two past lifting partner and World No. 1 DJ.
