Brooks Koepka laments Los Angeles Country Club, saying he’s ‘not a huge fan of this place’ after making the cut even par
- Koepka says he is “not a big fan of blind tee shots” appearing all over the course
- The winner of the PGA Championship needs a big Saturday to stay in contention
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The most recent major championship winner, Brooks Koepka, was not the biggest fan of the Los Angeles Country Club this week.
While some golfers, such as Rickie Fowler, Wyndham Clark and Xander Schauffele have been able to achieve success on the course, Koepka is not among them.
The reigning PGA Championship winner is tied after 36 holes, good enough to make the cut and tie for 30th place.
But that doesn’t mean that Koepka enjoys the environment in which he plays.
“I’m not a big fan of this place,” said Koepka per ESPN. “I’m not a big fan of blind tee shots, and then I think there’s just a few spots where whatever you hit, the ball just ends up in the same spot.
Brooks Koepka does not enjoy the Los Angeles Country Club after making the cut even par
“I think it’s more fun to play through as a regular round than a US Open. I mean, there were, what, two eights yesterday? That won’t happen.’
Those “two 8s” in question were the record-breaking 8-under 62s Fowler and Schauffele shot on Thursday.
Both players became the first ever to shoot that low in a single US Open round, tying Branden Grace’s record from the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale for the lowest round in a major.
It was all part of one of the lowest scoring opening rounds in US Open history – with an average score of 71.39.
Koepka, who won the tournament twice at Erin Hills in Wisconsin and Shinnecock Hills on Long Island, felt he played better in his first two rounds at LACC than in his last two rounds at the PGA, where he won his fifth major.
The LIV Rebel shot 4-under 66 and 3-under 67 at Oak Hill in Rochester, New York to beat Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffeler by two shots.
“I’ve won majors on golf courses I didn’t like very much,” Koepka said. ‘But yes, I don’t know this one. It’s not my favourite.’
Koepka has a long hill to climb if he wants to win back-to-back majors – something he did before in 2018.
Koepka has said this course is ‘not his favourite’ due to the course’s blind tee shots
The two-time US Open champion and five-time major winner has been paired with Mackenzie Huges
“Of course I have to play two good rounds, so that’s what I have to do,” said Koepka.
“But I would definitely like to be further than where I am now. But it all depends on what happens today, whether the wind picks up. … Who knows what those guys are going to achieve.
“I thought every pin position was fine,” Koepka added. ‘I had no idea that anything was really made up.
“I guess I just didn’t play very well, so I’m not really going to shoot a good song.”
Koepka will be paired with Canadian Mackenzie Hughes and will tee off for his third round around 3:34pm ET.
If LIV Golf hopes to clinch a double this season, their best chances currently lie with Dustin Johnson, who sits six-under and is tied for sixth.
Fowler currently leads the pack ten-under, one shot ahead of Wyndham Clark going into the third round.