Brooks Koepka had to make the call he didn’t want to make to Augusta National Golf Club.
Koepka, who’s recovering from a partially torn tendon in his left wrist, is a no-go for the 2018 Masters.
Doctors told him he’s about 80 percent but that’s not enough for the young bomber. “I either have to go full bore or not at all,” is how Koepka put it. “I don’t want to risk getting re-injured and then being out a long time.”
Koepka’s withdrawal means that this will be one of the smaller Masters fields in recent years.
If the winner of this week’s Houston Open isn’t otherwise already eligible to play, then there will be just 87 players in this year’s field next week at Augusta National.
If the winner is already in, then it’s just 86. And with Koepka out, that means there’s one less really good player to contend with.
