Brooks Koepka excited for challenge as he returns ‘home’ to Cognizant Classic

There’s no scarcity of storylines round Brooks Koepka this week as he returns for the primary time in three years to play his “hometown event,” the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches.

Considerable consideration was given to his $5 million charitable donation introduced earlier within the week, a part of the nine-time Tour winner’s settlement when he joined the Returning Member Program in January.

Then there’s the enterprise surrounding his putter. Koepka switched from a blade to a mallet forward of the WM Phoenix Open after struggling with his short game at Torrey Pines in his first PGA Tour occasion for the reason that spring of 2022.

Koepka, who missed the reduce at TPC Scottsdale, acknowledged in his pre-tournament press convention this week that he was nonetheless studying how to successfully use the mallet putter within the desert.

“I didn’t know where exactly I was hitting it, and obviously when you change putters, speed becomes another thing, and I felt like the speed was slightly off,” Koepka instructed reporters Wednesday. “Now I understand exactly where to hit it and where it’s going. I feel like my speed control has gotten better, and just with a few changes, just tidying those things up.”

Despite not making it to the weekend on the WM after making the putter swap, oddsmakers have Koepka as one of the favorites entering the Champion Course at PGA National (he’s at present listed seventh favourite at +2900 to win). Not having to journey does have its benefits.

“It’s definitely weird staying at home, you just get so accustomed to living out of a suitcase or hotel or whatever,” Koepka stated of getting to play in his personal yard, at an occasion during which he’s participated in since he was 9 or 10 years outdated.

“Growing up here, I came every year. I remember carrying the sign. From [the time] “I was 9, 10 years old until probably maybe a junior, senior in high school.”

He played the Cognizant in 2022, finishing T-16 alongside eight other players.

This week’s field lacks star power at the top with only one participant (Ryan Gerard) ranked within the prime 30 of the Official World Golf Ranking.

Big names or not on the Cognizant, Koepka is extra involved himself with studying everybody who’s within the discipline — not the standard of the competitors primarily based on world rating.

“There’s probably more guys I’ve just had to introduce myself to, there’s a lot of people I don’t know,” he admitted Wednesday. “I think I remember reading a stat years ago where every four years there’s a 50 percent turnover, something like that. I could be wrong. That could be completely made up, too, so I don’t know. I remember reading that.”

If all goes to plan, Koepka will help use it to leverage his personal OWGR placement — he sits No. 263 after his stint on the LIV circuit, a precipitous fall from the No. 1 spot he as soon as held for 38 consecutive weeks starting in May 2019.

“This is true hometown event,” he stated, with out placing expectations on the place he would possibly end if he makes the Cognizant reduce after 36 holes. “I don’t think anybody in my family or really anybody has got more than like a 25-minute drive.”

“It’s nice to be able to be this close to home and to have everyone come out,” he added. “It’s just enjoyable to see faces you haven’t seen in a long time. Sometimes it’s the only time I see people is when I’m here at this event. It’ll be fun.”