One would think that with Brooks Koepka boasting that he’ll equal or pass the 15 majors won by Tiger Woods, that he, well, might want to consider winning more often at regular PGA Tour events.
It’s been a year since Koepka eagled the 71st hole at TPC Scottsdale and went on to nip Xander Schauffele and K.H. Lee by a shot to win the 2021 Phoenix Open. It was also the last time Koepka won a tournament.
Perhaps there’s a little bit of deja-vu in the air because there was Koepka, out early Thursday when things were a bit chilly and windy and the scoring was a little more difficult at the well-manicured course that hosts the most well-attended event on the PGA Tour.
Yes, Koepka was off and running with an opening five-under par 66, just a shot behind early leader K.H. Lee, one of the two he beat out last year. Lee shot 65 to add more to that deja-vu theme.
But Schauffele didn’t want to be left out either. He shot 67, just good enough to let everyone know he was in town.
As the afternoon half of the draw went out, things warmed up nicely, the sun inched higher in the sky, the winds vanished and scoring conditions were a green-light special.
The field’s two biggest names — world No. 1 Jon Rahm and No. 4 Patrick Cantlay weren’t great — but they weren’t bad. Rahm turned 63 or 64 into 67. He didn’t birdie a single par five and three-putted the par four 17th after he drove the green. Iffy day for Rahm-bo but it’s nice when you leave a lot of shots out there and still sign for a 67 that keeps you in the thick of it.
Same for Cantlay. This is his first time in the Valley Of The Sun and by time he reached the 16th, the crowd was waiting for him. His tee shot left him a distant 44 feet from the hole and he was promptly booed, which made the straight-faced Cantlay crack a smile. He was diggin’ the crowd. He shot his own 67 and it looked as though he was sleep-walking out there.
Justin Thomas had trouble finding fairways but his iron game was good enough to produce a 67 but he’d be the first to tell you he left a lot of shots out there, just as Rahm had done.
Best finish of the day belonged to 2019 Phoenix winner Rickie Fowler. Rickie was a dismal three-over for his round when he got to the 17th, where he hit a gem of a second shot, a high pitch that checked, then rolled softly into the hole for an eagle two. Rickie followed that up with an approach at 18 that left him just three feet for birdie and that eagle-birdie finish got him in the house at even par, a nice score considering how poorly Rickie played for 15 holes.
Others weren’t as fortunate.
Harold Varner III, who holed the spectacular eagle putt on the 72nd hole to win in Saudi Arabia last week, found himself jet-lagged and unprepared to play well and shot a four-over par 75 — he’s halfway out of town. Viktor Hovland, who has been on a solid role the past few months, could do no better than one-over 72.
By day’s end, darkness left a few groups unfinished, including Saheeth Theegala, who had it to seven-under but was staring at 15-feet to save par at the eighth, his 17th hole of the day when the horn sounded, ending play.
The crowds were just warming up at 16 and once again, north of a half-million will make their way to TPC Scottsdale by Sunday.
And there’s Brooks up there at the top. Can he actually go back-to-back at a regular Tour event?
Stay tuned.
