Tony Finau explained why he is optimistic that Brooks Koepka could put himself in the mix to win The Masters this year following his return to the PGA Tour earlier this season.
Koepka is one of several names who will have his sights set on clinching the Green Jacket at Augusta National over the coming days.
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Of course, Koepka has been golf’s ultimate prizefighter over the last decade. The 35-year-old has won five major titles. No player in the field this week has won more.
This week sees Koepka play in his first major since leaving LIV Golf and returning to the PGA Tour. His results in recent months have not been too remarkable given the talent that he possesses.
Tony Finau assesses Brooks Koepka’s chances of winning The Masters
But obviously, the majors bring out another side of Koepka.
In fact, speaking on Golf Live with Trey Wingo, Tony Finau backed Koepka to be a serious contender to win The Masters this week.
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He also picked out two other names who are perhaps going under the radar but have a real opportunity to write their names in the history books over the coming days.
Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images
“There’s a couple of guys that I’m looking at who I think will have a great chance this week. Robby MacIntyre is a lefty. At Augusta National, they see it differently. He has no problem fading the golf ball. Great short game, so him. Akshay Bhatia, those two lefties I think are two guys that are playing great. They have poise, they’ve shown that they can show up on big stages. Robby’s been in Ryder Cups and Akshay’s going to be a future Ryder Cup player. Those are two guys I think maybe can be overlooked, but I think will have a great chance,” he said.
“Nobody is going to talk about Brooks Koepka. But I played with Brooks a handful of times the past couple of months in practice rounds and tournaments. I feel like he’s now on the back end of all the hoopla when it comes to LIV and the tour and coming back to the tour and all that stuff. I think we’re going to see him play some great golf. But he’s shown, obviously, he’s a five-time major champion. He has what it takes to win a major at Augusta.
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“I would not be surprised at all if on Sunday if Brooks is wearing a Green Jacket. He passes the eye test for me. He’s hitting the golf ball as well as I’ve seen him strike it. I’ve played a lot of golf with Brooks. The big stages are where Brooks really shows up and I wouldn’t even blink twice if Brooks was in contention on Sunday.”
How Brooks Koepka has performed at The Masters during his career
Obviously, The Masters is one of the two majors that Koepka has not yet won during his career.
It is also the major that has seen the American register the fewest top 10s, with just three under his belt so far.
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However, The Masters is also the only major where Koepka has finished second on two occasions. Most recently, he was runner-up to Jon Rahm back in 2023.
He actually took a two-shot lead into the final round on that occasion. So there is plenty of reason to think that Koepka could be a real threat this week.
And given how he has improved on the PGA Tour over the last few months, it definitely feels dangerous to write off Koepka’s chances of winning a sixth major on Sunday.
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