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The reigning PGA Championship winner, Brooks Koepka, is not a fan of the U.S. Open venue, LACC, after he struggled through his second 18.
Brooks Koepka came into the U.S. Open as one of the favorites. After two days of play, the 2023 PGA Championship winner is apparently not fond of Los Angeles Country Club.
“I’m not a huge fan of this place,” Koepka said. “I just think that there’s a — I’m not a huge fan of blind tee shots, and then I think there’s just some spots that no matter what you hit, the ball just ends up in the same spot.”
He shot a 71 Thursday and a 69 Friday to sit at even par.
Koepka will play the weekend, but back-to-back majors seem to be out of the question.
“I’m actually playing better than I did at Oak Hill,” Koepka said Friday. However, he is currently T29 and currently 10 shots behind the leader Rickie Fowler.
Koepka is on the side that believes the U.S. Open should be one of the most challenging tests in golf. The reactions to the low scores at L.A. Country Club have brought a mixture of reviews, with more negative than positive.
Through two days, Koepka has six bogeys, six birdies and 24 pars, meaning he is struggling to score. He is No. 56 in strokes gained putting and No. 73 in strokes gained off the tee. It hasn’t been his week, but Koepka will still play the weekend.
“I think it would be more fun to play on just like a regular round than it would be a U.S. Open,” Koepka said. “I mean, there’s, what, two 8s yesterday. That doesn’t happen.”
He is correct that the record-breaking 62’s from Fowler and Xander Schauffele are not typical of a U.S. Open. But considering how badly he wanted to win this tournament, it sounds like sour grapes.
He played alongside Rory McIlroy. Rory had no problem making birdies playing under the exact same conditions at the same exact time. In fact, McIlroy had more birdies than anyone in the field when he entered the clubhouse at 8-under par Friday.
Whether this U.S. Open is playing easier this year than others or not, his poor play is not because he doesn’t like this course. It’s because he played poorly.
