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Is it possible for a performance to still be considered vintage if the best is still in front? Brooks Koepka will attempt to answer this question for us as he followed up a stellar 7-under 65 in Round 1 with a methodical 5-under 67 on Friday at the 2023 Masters to stand at 12 under.
Coming into the week off his victory at LIV Golf Orlando, Koepka was adamant his health and subsequently his game had returned. Through 36 holes, it is hard to spot the lie.
“I don’t think [I’m] far off at all,” said Koepka on returning to his previous major championship form. “I mean, I’ve got a completely different knee, so the normal is a little bit different. But swing-wise, it still feels the same. I’m able to do everything I need to. And the confidence is there. The confidence was lost just because of my knee and that was it.”
Koepka commanded a five-stroke lead by the time he strutted off the 18th green at Augusta National, falling two strokes shy of tying the 36-hole scoring record attained by Jordan Spieth in 2015. That’s more than fine with the four-time major champion, who will instead look ahead to the weekend where the third leg of the career grand slam could be awaiting.
Drawing what appears to be the better side of the weather, Koepka took advantage early in Round 2. Momentum-building par saves on Nos. 1 and 3 sandwiched a birdie on the par-5 2nd – a common theme for the big-hitting Floridian.
Four straight pars ensued before the big bird landed on the eighth. Working his second from 250 yards around the trees and dropping it to 13 feet, Koepka sent shockwaves through the patrons of Augusta National when his putt found the bottom of the cup for an eagle.
“There was a bit of mud that was stuck on the front of the ball that was kind of odd and [I] kind of wasn’t sure if it was going to fly off or what it was going to do,” said Koepka. “But you know, luckily, it was right where it needed to…
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Source : cbssports
