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WASTE MANAGEMENT PHOENIX OPENFebruary 1, 2015Brooks KoepkaSCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA THE MODERATOR: Brooks Koepka, congratulations on your first career PGA TOUR win here at the 2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open. It was a great week. With the win you move to No. 6 in FedEx Cup standings and the FedEx points is what helped you get out here. With that, just comment on the week and we will take questions. BROOKS KOEPKA: This week is unlike anything I have ever seen. Guys have explained it to me, and it's nothing like what they say. It's a fun week. The fans make it unbelievable. Waste Management does a great job running this tournament, and that's one the guys look forward to. They mark it on their schedule they're going to come, as you can see with the field this week. It was a fun week, and I'm happy to have this one as my first win. Q. (Indiscernible.) BROOKS KOEPKA: It wasn't a question. It was a statement (laughter). Q. As cliché as it sounds, you talk so much about patience, given your other chances, and how much was that a case today of just kind of lingering? And then if you could go through 15 for us, which turned it around. BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, it was kind of funny. At Frys, I can't remember who I was playing with, final round, someone had holed out on the first hole, also. My caddie just looked at me, and he said, Here we go again. But it was -- I had to stay very patient. I don't want to say it was frustrating or hard, but I just had to hang in there and wait till the back 9. I played the back 9 well all week and just trying to stick it out for those couple par-5s and especially 17. Q. The risk reward factor coming down the course, especially at 15, 17, how much fun is that for a golfer? BROOKS KOEPKA: It's unbelievable. That hole, 15, 16, 17 is just I think an unbelievable finish. There is so much risk reward, like you said. And if you hit a couple of quality golf shots, you can really make a move, whereas, you know, the opposite, you hit one bad one, and you can run up a number pretty quick. Luckily I was able to pull some shots off. Q. How did your friendship with Rory evolve? How did that start? How did you get to be buddies? How much of being a friend of his help you, if any, watching or playing with him? BROOKS KOEPKA: Well, we met maybe a year and a half ago, first off, but it's cool. We're the same age, pretty much. I think he's a year older. So we've got common interests, common anything. You know, both like sports, hanging out, doing whatever. He's been, I don't want to say somebody you could look up to a little bit, because first off, he's unbelievable player, I mean, I think. And as far as -- he's just got experience, too. You know, he's been professional since he's been I think 18. So he's got a little more under his belt than I have, so we can relate in that aspect, same age, but he's got the experience. So kind of picking his brain a little bit and watching him how he goes about things and how fearless he is. I think driver, he just pulls driver every hole. Just trying to learn a little bit just from watching him play a little bit, but it's been a big help. Q. Do you play much with him at home when you guys are both at home? BROOKS KOEPKA: It's hard. It's hard to match up schedules as far as when he's home or when I'm home, but we don't play much when we're home. We never played there. Played a couple practice rounds together, usually. Q. So many young players on the leaderboard. You actually had I think three players younger than you on the leaderboard today. BROOKS KOEPKA: I'm old, man. Q. Yeah, exactly. What is your explanation for why you guys are coming out so prepared to play against some of the veteran players? BROOKS KOEPKA: Just playing against each other for years and years, since about 14. We have all been playing against each other. I didn't know Hideki till I got out here. He's an unbelievable player. And you look at the rest of the guys, you know, Justin Thomas, who else is up there? Berger was up there for a while. Spieth, exactly. We have played against these guys for years and years, and it's fun. We enjoy it and they are all really good players. Q. Can you just take us through the putt from off the green, what you were thinking using the putter? BROOKS KOEPKA: Well, I was a little disappointed with the shot, coming up short. But as far as the putt goes, I left everything short all day. Kind of struggled with speed. As we were reading the putt, I told my caddie, I liked the read. I just said, I'm finally going to get this one there, because everything was two, three feet short, especially on the back 9. I don't know why speed control was off a little bit, and especially going through the fringe uphill, just gave it a whack, and then it went in, thankfully. Q. Correct me if I'm wrong, but in less than three years as a pro you won more titles than you won in college. BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah. Q. Hypothetically it should be harder. What is it about pro golf you have won so much so quickly? BROOKS KOEPKA: I have just learned a lot. Whether it be success or failure, I have learned a lot. I think I won maybe two, three times in college. But it's funny. You know, looking back, I have won the Challenge Tour, one in Europe and one here now. It's been special. But my drive, I think, is what it is. You know, I want to be the best player in the world. I'm not there yet, and I know it's going to take time, but I want to get to that point. Q. How quickly did the delight of the flight of your shot on 17 turn to terror when it went over the green? BROOKS KOEPKA: I actually thought it was in the water when I saw it land on the green. I kind of wanted to hit hybrid, but I thought that was a little out of the question. I was worried about that bunker. I was like, Come on. But there was no club for it with the tee moved up a little bit. We would have hit 3-wood from the back just with a little bit of adrenaline, slightly downwind. It was a 3-wood from the back, and I could have gave it a rip, but because the tee was up a little bit, it made it a difficult club selection for me. But I thought it was in the water when I saw it disappear, and one of the camera guys said it stayed up. I still don't know how. Q. This may be hard to answer, but since what you have done is all you know, but do you get any sense that winning from where you went and where you came from is more satisfying than if maybe you would have gotten your card straight out of college? BROOKS KOEPKA: Absolutely. I have worked hard. In the last three years I have seen it pay off. You look at the failures. I have put myself in position quite a few times. I just haven't gotten it done. But like I said, I'm just learning from it. I'm still learning as I go, trying to pick guys' brains, playing practice rounds with guys that have won majors. I think that's important to me because they have got experience around the golf course. They know how to win, and just picking their brains is a big thing for me. Q. How much did not staying in the four-star hotels and conditions of some of the places you played, how much did that toughen you? BROOKS KOEPKA: I don't think so. I think I'm one of the most mentally strong people that I have ever met. But as far as toughening me up, playing in a rain jacket, you look at, what was it, Friday? It poured, or it rained all day, things like that, playing in a rain jacket wasn't comfortable with it early on in college, things like that. But learning how to travel, manage your time, go about things the right way, handling yourself off the golf course, it was big -- I guess you could say it was a big culture shock going over. But as far as coming back, it's been a very nice transition to come back. Q. A lot of people have been saying that you're the next great player out here, that the expectations are huge and stuff. Does this kind of get you on the way? Do you feel like this is the starting point? BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah. You know, not winning on the PGA TOUR was the one thing that I wanted to accomplish. You know, I wanted to come out this year, get a win, make Presidents Cup and further down the road make the Ryder Cup. Watching that this year in Europe was funny. Couldn't say anything. You have all the Europeans over there and they are shouting. You know, every time the Americans, you know, hit a bad shot or anything, they were going nuts. But that's the goal. I don't see why I can't. I feel like my game is ready for that. I was ready to compete for majors and win them. Q. Do you plan to play enough to keep your European Tour card? BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I'll play over there. I'll play over there a couple of times. I'm not sure which events I will go over for yet, but I have taken a membership. Q. Is it safe to say or fair to say that missing your card, your PGA TOUR card in 2012 has turned out to be a blessing? BROOKS KOEPKA: Absolutely. Going that route, going over to Europe, like I said, it toughened me. It was a blessing in disguise. At the time I was extremely disappointed, as I'm sure Jordan Spieth was, too. Because I think we were at the same spot, finished, I think, two out of it. But that just toughens you up, your drive. It makes you want to get out here that much more. Q. You seem very composed and calm. Are you more excited inside than you're letting on right now? BROOKS KOEPKA: I'm always calm. I'm pretty chill. I don't get too excited, too down. I always try to have a good laugh and just keep my calm. I'm excited. I might not show it, but I am. Q. I know you don't have a reference point, but how do you think the course played? BROOKS KOEPKA: I think it's great. Well, yeah, obviously (laughter). No, I think the setup was unbelievable, especially with all the rain we had on Friday or Saturday or whatever. But the golf course was -- the greens needed a little bit. They were very firm, so they kind of -- it helped us a little bit for the fact that it rained, but as far as the setup goes and the changes from -- I watched this on TV maybe once. To be honest, I don't watch much golf, but the setup's unbelievable. Q. Did you hear the announcer pronounce your name Brooks Cupcake on your first tee? BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I got that. We were laughing about that when I walked off the tee. I was laughing while I was taking practice swings. I don't even know. Most people don't know how to say it. I'm not surprised. He's not the first one. He won't be the last. Q. Can you go over how you got to the Challenge Tour or why you went there? I guess the reason I ask that is Jordan took a route of trying for a spot at Web.com and got a quick break early. What got you to the Challenge Tour in the first place? BROOKS KOEPKA: I already won over there on the Challenge Tour before I had come back for Q-school and all that. It was the only spot I had to play, you know. I didn't earn status anywhere. I felt like playing four rounds a golf would benefit me a lot more than trying to do one-day events, Monday qualifiers or things like that. I thought playing four days is a big adjustment. Professional golf, when you're finally playing for money or whatever it may be, it's different and the travel. Q. What makes you so mentally strong? BROOKS KOEPKA: I guess you could say my upbringing. My parents were -- my dad is pretty strict. You know, he would always test us when we were young. You know, I hear stories of Tiger and his dad. It wasn't that far, but he was -- he made us I guess mentally strong. And then especially, too, I think things kind of changed in college, too, my mom. She was sick for a little while, had breast cancer, and I know my brother grew up real quick. I kind of changed my personality and everything my junior year. Q. Who wins when you and your brother play? BROOKS KOEPKA: Last time he won. Last time we played it was two weeks ago, I think. A bunch of the guys and myself. My brother went out and played. But he got me. He's always looking forward to coming back from school and teeing it up with me. We just don't get the chance that much. Q. Did you have plans to go to the Super Bowl, and if so, did getting into the final group ruin those plans? BROOKS KOEPKA: No, I didn't have any plans going to the Super Bowl, but I'll be watching it, that's for sure. I don't know who's going to win as far as anything goes. I have got to be leaning a bit more towards the Pats. Tom Brady is pretty good. Hard to beat. Q. You were basically known, I think, in American golfing public as first the guy traveling the world trying to work his way up. When you look at some of the young guys out there, whether it's Spieth or whatever, didn't quite have the same -- certainly don't want to say pedigree but recognition. Did that ever bother you, given your talent level, and are you at all a late bloomer? BROOKS KOEPKA: I guess you could say maybe a little bit of a late bloomer. I just think I worked hard. I think I work a lot harder than most people do. And it shows. But as far as those guys, you look at Spieth, I mean, he deserved all the credit that he got coming out, all the hype, everything. He's lived up to it, first off. He's an unbelievable player, won was it the Junior Am, I believe, a couple times. So he deserved all the credit that he got. I didn't do much with Junior Golf, and even college golf I didn't do too much my senior year. But, yeah, I guess you could say a little bit of a late bloomer. I just found what works for me, what doesn't. You know, building off that. Q. What was the turning point for you in terms of belief? You always have belief, but really knowing that you were... BROOKS KOEPKA: I look at a couple scenarios. The first win as a pro. That builds your confidence, couple turning points. I can even go back in college, my senior year. I just kind of went in with a little bit different attitude, and then I guess you could say the win in Turkey really made me believe that, you know, I can play with some of the best players in the world, you know, going toe to toe with Poulter, and you look at this week, that leaderboard. That's pretty impressive with all these guys, with Hideki, Bubba, Jordan. Who else am I missing? Q. Ryan? BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, exactly. It's a first-class tournament the way it's run, and the players are unbelievable. Q. What's your schedule? BROOKS KOEPKA: I play next week and then Honda will be the next one. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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