Brooks Koepka still is pondering a tough loss in this tournament 10 years ago as he prepares to play alongside the defending champion at this week’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
Koepka lost to Sergio Garcia on the first playoff hole in 2016 when the tournament was played at TPC Four Seasons in Irving, Texas. Garcia made a winning par after Koepka drove his tee shot into the water.
“I still think about that from time to time. I feel like that was a very, very good chance of winning. I felt like I should have won,” Koepka told reporters on Wednesday at the tournament’s current venue, TPC Craig Ranch, in McKinney, Texas.
“I know I was young. Sometimes that can kind of play into your advantage of not really knowing the situation as well where — but also can be a disadvantage when you can put yourself in that many situations where you know how to handle yourself.”
Koepka, now 36, had entered the final round with a two-stroke lead over Jordan Spieth.
“Yeah, I played well that week. It was a great week. I actually love that golf course,” Koepka said. “I think that golf course was fantastic, some good history around there. Yeah, I would like to have that tee shot in the playoff back.”
Koepka, a five-time major winner who returned from LIV Golf this year, is now ranked No. 111 in the world after spending 47 weeks at No. 1 during his PGA Tour heyday.
He finished T55 at the PGA Championship last week following a T12 at the Masters last month. Koepka’s best result this season was a T9 at the Cognizant Classic.
Koepka will be paired with current No. 1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler and Si Woo Kim for the first two rounds this week.
“Both of those guys living in Dallas and obviously Scottie being the best player in the world, you expect a lot of fans and a lot of people out here cheering for him. It will be fun. It will be exciting and I guess a good measuring stick to figure out where I’m at,” Koepka said.
“Obviously Si Woo is playing pretty good and very talented. It will be a lot of fun. I’m excited about it, and we’ll see how things shake out.”
Koepka said he switched putters for this week’s tournament as he tries to shake a slump on the greens.
“Just going back to basics, I think is a huge thing, trying to make sure you’re lined up, your grip is correct, your putter is aimed where you think it’s aimed. Just little different things,” he said.
Koepka, who captured five tournament titles during his time with LIV Golf, is looking for his first PGA Tour victory since winning his third PGA Championship in 2023. His last victory as a regular on the PGA Tour was at the Phoenix Open in February 2021.
