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FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN

February 4, 2015

Brooks Koepka

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

JOHN BUSH: We would like to welcome Brooks Koepka into the interview room here at the Farmers Insurance Open. He's making his first start at this event and he's coming off of his win last week in Phoenix. Brooks, if we can, take us back to Sunday and how life's been for you the last few days.

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, life's been good. It's nice to get the first victory. Especially last week at the Waste Management. It's such an exciting event and with especially everybody knows the crowds and everything there are unbelievable and especially that 16th hole, but it's neat to have that as the first win on TOUR.

JOHN BUSH: Your thoughts on Torrey. Have you been around?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, we played nine holes yesterday. Just kind of getting my feet back under me and trying to get back into the swing of things. But a beautiful golf course. Unbelievable views. San Diego as we all know is one of the most beautiful places out here. So, it's fun to be here and look forward to this week.

JOHN BUSH: All right. Questions?

Q. Looking ahead, you've got, even though the Challenge Tour was your very first membership on any TOUR, you can't claim that or Europe as a home TOUR. If you do the math, and look at your eight freebies or crossovers, and three conflicting events, how do you keep both cards?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I've already played one this year. Sun City counted as one. And I think with the wrap around season, with the PGA TOUR season ending August? Right? Something like that. August, September. Somewhere around there, with the wrap around season, you can go over and go play a couple. Don't get me wrong, it will be difficult. But I'm looking forward to the challenge. I think that you look at the best players in the world and they're doing the same thing and that's where I want to be.

Q. Even though you had your full card for the first time this year, was there any question about where you were going to start as opposed to Phoenix instead of maybe one of the Middle East ones?
BROOKS KOEPKA: No. I knew I was going to start in Phoenix. That was one I had marked on the calendar that I wanted to play. It's such a neat event. Like I said, it's with the crowds, and the field there is unbelievable. It's a really good field as you saw the guys that played last week. But we had that one marked as a one that I wanted to start up at.

Q. Do you have more and more players come up to you now that you're like the poster boy of doing the Challenge Tour, going to Europe, do you have more players asking you about it and if so, what do you tell them good and bad, the challenges?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Well, first off, it worked for me. Obviously. And it's worked well for Peter Uihlein, too. It's a different road. Now that the -- especially, I look at my brother coming up, he's got a year and a half left of school. He's starting to ask a little bit more questions. His friends, guys like that. But also, I don't think it's the right thing for everybody. Everybody beats to their own drum. What works for some people, doesn't always work for others. It worked for me, but I'm very independent and can do things on my own. I don't want to say I enjoy being alone, but I had quite a few people over there that I could go see, friends and things like that. So it wasn't too far of a stretch for me.

Q. No pressure to know a lot about this, because it kind of just unfolded, Charlie Sifford, kind of a pioneer African American player died. I'm just wondering, do the young players have any knowledge or I don't know how much of a historian you are in golf, but kind of his impact, or are you kind of just --
BROOKS KOEPKA: Well, obviously that's sad news. I read that this morning or I heard that through a couple links that he had passed away. And my thoughts were with his family and everything. But as far as a historian of the game, we're always studying, we're always looking at guys that have been here before us and learning from them.

Q. You're going to see a lot of linksy stuff in your Majors this year. Considering where you played and where you come from, how much further ahead do you think you are with some of the other young Americans just understanding that style of golf?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Well, first off, we played the U.S. Amateur at out in Seattle at Chambers Bay. So that will be -- so I played it. I know they made a bunch of changes to it. I'm looking forward to getting back there. It will be -- it's an unbelievable test of golf. It was when we played it back in 2007, I believe. I think that's right. But it was a great test and I'm looking forward to getting back there and like you said, it is more of a links style golf course and I've played links golf quite a bit being over in European that's something that it's a different kind of golf. Anybody will tell you that. It's fun to play. I enjoy the keeping the ball down, the wind, you can play any shot at any time. And then St. Andrews, playing a couple events, the Dunhill, I played that a couple times, so I got a couple round under my belt, I feel like I know the golf course very well and know where to hit it and know where not to hit it. So I think this year, I'm looking forward to the Majors and trying to peak my game around the Majors. I'm excited to see how this year goes.

Q. How did you do at Chambers Bay?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I missed the cut.

Q. You didn't make match play?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah. I think in all the U.S. Juniors, U.S. Amateur, I don't think I ever made it to match play in any of them.

Q. When was the last time you played match play?
BROOKS KOEPKA: NCAAs maybe. I think that might be it. Yeah. P. Reed knocked me out.

Q. Him again.
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah. That was one of the losses, many losses that he made everybody else have. I think he knocked me, Pete, I'm going to say maybe Russell Henley or Harris English out or somebody like that. Harris. Yeah. P. Reed's got a pretty good record.

Q. I was going to ask you if you were an athlete, but what I'm really getting at is, if you take someone like you and Justin Thomas, and watch you guys hit tee shots, land relatively close to each other, someone might be inclined to say how does this happen. How do you explain 140 pounds and a more athletic figure hitting it a great distance?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Does he weigh 140 pounds?

Q. I think he lost a couple pounds last week, so. 145, maybe.
BROOKS KOEPKA: I got 60 pounds on him? Man. He hits the ball a long ways.

Q. Talk about than to general point also, if your length, how much of it, what percentage is taught, which percent of it is natural?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I would say a lot of it has to be natural. Putting the club if the right spot and being able to fire is a big thing, and obviously he's very athletic. I think he can just about play any sport. I think he played baseball growing up, too. I'm not sure. I think I heard him talk a little bit about it. But as far as me, I've played everything growing up baseball, basketball, you name it, very athletic. So, I think that a lot of it comes down to athleticism, don't get me wrong, putting the club in the right spot has a lot to do with it, but just the explosive power is a big thing. He does crush the ball and he doesn't hold back. He swings at it pretty good too.

Q. Do you think he walks down the fairway and people say wow, look at that athlete go?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I don't know. He's good. He'll start filling out. He's moved down to Jupiter, so it will be nice to have him down there working out, doing things like that and it will be fun to have him around. We got a great group of guys down there. So it will be neat.

Q. Is your schedule still a work in progress or is it pretty solid?
BROOKS KOEPKA: No, I know a plan. We've got a plan. Play this week, play Honda, Doral, and then Arnold Palmer's event. That's been the plan ever since we started and I'll stick to it. It's been nice. It's been the first time I actually know what I'm doing going forward. The last two years I really haven't had much notice, more than two, three weeks out on where I'm going, so to have a plan, it's nice. I can sit back and relax a little bit more and know where I'm going playing, do a little research on the golf courses, things like that. And know what kind of suits my game. The travel is a little bit easier this time. You know where you're going instead of coming back and forth, back and forth. I got a little run down at the end of last year. I think that's why you saw such a big break in the off season. But it's worked and I'm excited to have a plan and know where I'm going, going forward.

Q. Have you been to Augusta yet?
BROOKS KOEPKA: No, I haven't.

Q. When do you plan to go?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I'm trying to see if I can go maybe the week of Tampa, or somewhere around that time. I'm not sure. I haven't planned everything out yet. But I'm looking forward to getting up there and playing a practice round and just stepping foot on the grounds up there. I think that's something every golfer dreams of and to get out there will be special.

Q. When you make goals, keeping your card, getting a card, etcetera, etcetera, how high up was playing Augusta?
BROOKS KOEPKA: It was pretty much up there. About as high as it gets. It was nice to have that locked up at the U.S. Open last year, but that was all part of the plan that I had and the goals that I had set. Did I think it would come this quick? Maybe not. But I did believe in myself and I did work my butt off and did all the right things. Am I surprised? Not totally. But I'm very happy with the way things have turned out.

JOHN BUSH: All right. Brooks, thank you.

BROOKS KOEPKA: Thank you.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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