Brooks Koepka returns to action on the PGA Tour this week at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
While Koepka has shown some positive signs since returning to the PGA Tour from LIV Golf in January, he still hasn’t been in contention to win a tournament on the back nine on Sunday.
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The 35-year-old American will be desperate for that to change this week in Houston, especially with the Masters just around the corner.
Koepka has been a great addition to the PGA Tour in 2026, and his return from LIV Golf has generated real excitement.
However, it’s very much a case of getting down to business now for the five-time major champion. All he’s interested in is winning and he hasn’t given himself a chance to do that so far this year.
Koepka definitely has some mechanical issues to address if he is to have any chance to win The Masters next month.
Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
He has been driving the ball poorly and despite big improvements on the greens, his putting is still not quite up to scratch.
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Koepka has a new driver in the bag ahead of the Houston Open and he has been using a new putter for a month or so now.
Brooks Koepka has been irritated over the past few weeks on the PGA Tour
Koepka has actually put together some solid results after his first two events back on the PGA Tour.
He has racked up three consecutive top-20 finishes over the past few weeks.
However, the American clearly thinks he should have done a lot better than he has.
Koepka was speaking to reporters on Wednesday ahead of the start of the Houston Open on Thursday.
He responded when asked whether he feels ready to not only contend at Augusta National in two weeks’ time, but to actually win.
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“Yeah, I do feel like I’m ready,” he said.
“The only thing is I really haven’t put myself in contention with nine holes to go. That’s really the last missing piece that I feel like I need to accomplish here before Augusta. But the game feels good.
“Everything’s trending in a nice direction. Ball-striking is feeling really, really good. Pete’s done a phenomenal job just getting everything where it needs to be.
“Yeah, the putting was a huge thing. I feel like it’s been so different because I was putting so terribly, I felt like I had to birdie the hole almost from the fairway or from the tee box, where now I can sit back and kind of play golf how I used to play in ’17, ’19, kind of in that run when I was playing very good where I can be very patient and just kind of wait my time.
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“I know I’m going to have five good chances on whatever hole it might be and then just take advantage from there. I used to just kind of — it felt very boring, just hit the center of the greens and occasionally you push and pull one kind of right on the flag.
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“I always think — I said it was like conservatively aggressive. I picked the right line, the right spot to make sure that I was never going to make double.
“I made a few doubles over the last few weeks, which has been kind of irritating. My game is rounding into form. I can see it. I don’t know if maybe results-wise, it probably hasn’t looked that way, but I can see it as a whole, it’s really all starting to come together.“
Brooks Koepka on ‘getting the juices’ flowing ahead of The Masters
The 35-year-old was asked by reporters on Wednesday what he wants to accomplish this week in Houston in order to ensure that he’s ready to compete at Augusta National next month.
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“I just think I just need to get the juices flowing of having a chance to win a golf tournament,“ Koepka said.
“It’s been a while. Didn’t win last year. So yeah, I just need to be able to put myself and get those feelings again. And especially out here, competing against unbelievable players on a difficult golf course would be what I need to do for the final prep for Augusta.
“Like I said to you just a couple minutes ago, the way this place is set up with the rough length, and the way it’s mowed back into you, it feels very similar to Augusta in that aspect.
“Around the greens you’re going to have quite — there’s quite a few undulations around these greens. You can be in some kind of weird spots, but the rough length and the fairway length around the greens is quite similar.“
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