Golf

Brooks Koepka hopes St Jude defence can spur some form

American only has one top 10 finish since the end of August last year

Brooks Koepka lines up a shot on the sixth hole during the second round of the 3M Open in Blaine, Minnesota last week. Photo: Craig Lassig/EPA

Wed Jul 29 2020 - 18:26

A year ago almost to the day, Brooks Koepka followed form figures of 2-1-2-4 in the four majors by flying directly to Memphis and winning the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational.

That gave the four-time major winner a healthy three-point lead at the top of the world rankings, but 12 months on the contrast is remarkable as Koepka returns to TPC Southwind sixth in the standings and with just one top-10 finish since the end of August last year.

The 30-year-old is therefore outside the top 125 on the FedEx Cup standings who will contest the first of the three play-off events next month and faces an uphill battle to reach the season-ending Tour Championship which is restricted to the top 30.

More pressingly, Koepka needs to find some form before next week attempting to become the first player to win the US PGA Championship in three straight years since it became a strokeplay event in 1958.

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The prospects of doing so at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco are being hampered by the knee problem that saw him have stem cell surgery treatment and be sidelined for three months at the end of last year.

Asked if he will need further treatment, Koepka told a pre-tournament press conference: “The tear has to be worse to go under the knife. We’ll see where my season ends and go get stem cell again most likely and figure it out from there.

“It limits what I can do. I can’t run, I take these little steps and try to do it very quickly and that’s kind of my run right now. Biking I can do once a week without it really flaring up and getting too painful, can’t do much cardio. It’s definitely changed a lot of things for sure.”

Missing the cut in last week’s 3M Open at least allowed Koepka to work with coach Pete Cowen for the first time since March and he believes he is not far away from turning his season around.

“If there was ever a good cut to miss I think it was that one,” Koepka added. “I feel like I’m getting better and better every day, last week I saw signs of it.

“It’s definitely been frustrating, it will test you mentally but at the same time I’m looking at it as a challenge. I know it will turn around eventually.

“You don’t work that hard for nothing and I’m starting to see signs of it now, it’s just about going out and doing it.

“Whether it will be this week, next week, two months from now, whenever’s it’s going to be it’s going to pay off.”

WGC FedEx St Jude Invitational

Purse: €8,946,683 (€1,487,701 to winner).

Where: TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tennesse .

The course: Designed by Ron Pritchard in consultation with Fuzzy Zoeller and the 1977 Irish Open winner Hubert Green it was first opened in 1988 and the par 70 layout measures 7,237 yards with another 40 added since last year's event. Every bunker – some were eliminated, others created, some enlarged, others reduced in size – has been redone since last year's tournament, a project that took nine months. Water is in play on 10 holes and nine are doglegs. A new tee box on the Par 5, third hole, to the right of the original, has added 25 yards, while the downhill Par 4 17th has been stretched by about 15. Greens usually run about 12 on the stimpmeter.

What's the big deal: Once again there is no Tiger Woods as he is keeping his power dry, slated to return for next week's US PGA Championship at Harding Park in San Francisco. Nine of the world's Top 10 players are in action, the only absentee Australia's Adam Scott, who has yet to play in America since the resumption following the coronavirus pandemic. 78 players tee it up and there is no cut.

A look at the field: Brooks Koepka is the defending champion having had three shots to spare over Webb Simpson last year but the American's form hasn't been good of late missing two of the last three cuts. Rory McIlroy (2014) and Shane Lowry (2015) are former winners of the tournament – it was sponsored by Bridgestone at the time – and the Northern Irishman finished tied fourth in the event last year. Dustin Johnson is a multiple winner round Southwind as is Patrick Berger. Jon Rahm is back in action for the first time since claiming the world number one spot.

Irish in the field: World number two Rory McIlroy will play alongside Webb Simpson and Jordan Spieth (first round tee-time 5.50pm, Irish time) in one of four featured groups from a television perspective, ahead of the live coverage. They'll tee off on the 10th, so too Graeme McDowell, who'll be in a group that includes the talented American tyro Matthew Wolff and Australian Jason Day (6.30pm). British Open champion Shane Lowry will have Dustin Johnson and Tyrell Hatton for company (6.30pm) and they go off the first tee.

Betting: Rahm and McIlroy (10/1) lead the market – the Northern Irishman is available at 11/1 elsewhere – with Lowry at 90/1 and McDowell priced at 250/1. Matthew Fitzpatrick's (30/1) form has been decent of late and he finished tied fourth last year. For those who subscribe to the beware of the injured golfer, Dustin Johnson (33/1) retired (his back) after a first round 78 last week, following up on shooting a couple of 80s at the Memorial but it's just a month ago that he won the Traveler's and he loves this course. Ian Poulter (70/1) and Max Homa (80/1) look decent each way value at longer odds.

On TV: Sky Sports Golf from 6pm on Thursday.