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WGC CADILLAC MATCH PLAYApril 29, 2015Brooks KoepkaSAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA Q. Congratulations, tough match out there for you with Russell, how was it? BROOKS KOEPKA: It was interesting. Got off to a pretty bad start. I was kind of spraying the ball everywhere, but I hung in there. It was nice to play pretty well down the stretch. Q. Obviously had some issues with the ribs over a month ago, how are you feeling? BROOKS KOEPKA: I'm fine now. The Masters was about a week too early and I worked my butt off in the gym doing the rehab and things like that. And it's a hundred percent now. Q. First time at this course, what are your thoughts about it? BROOKS KOEPKA: It's a great golf course. It's interesting. A couple of drivable par‑4s. Par 5s, obviously the long hitters, benefits them. But hopefully I can play well this week. Q. I wanted to ask about the ribs. You've got to be disappointed with the Masters being a week too early? BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, it was obviously a little disappointing a week too early. But it is what it is. And I've still got three more majors. So I'll play in plenty of Masters and things like that, so it's not that big of a deal. Q. A lot of birdies, a lot of bogeys? BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I played really bad. I don't think either of us played particularly well. We started to hit the ball a little better on the back nine, started playing a little better. But neither one of us really took advantage of the golf course today. Q. There's been a lot of colorful score cards, not just in your match, but what do you attribute that to, just a difficult day? BROOKS KOEPKA: I wouldn't say it's a difficult day, but you can put yourself in some bad spots on this golf course pretty quickly. It's not the toughest, it's not the easiest. But if you put it in the wrong spot, the greens actually‑‑ they're not soft and they're not firm. But when you're chipping around the green, it's like, I don't want a say a trampoline effect, but the ball doesn't bite, even though you might have spin out of it, whether it be out of the bunker, it doesn't sit like you want it to. Q. Like you're not getting a check? BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, you're not really getting a check. And I've personally been struggling reading them. The greens are pretty flat and sometimes just from playing, I guess, all 18 holes and they're all pretty flat. You get one that breaks a little bit and you want to play it inside the cup, but it's outside. Just little things like that. Q. You won 17 with a par. Any other turning points in the match? BROOKS KOEPKA: Not really. Actually there was probably one on I think 9, the par‑3. Russell hit it to about four feet, and I hit it to about 15 and I made the birdie. And that was kind of big not to go 1‑down. Q. So there's no way you would ever conceive you're going to make him putt four feet. If that had been a two foot putt, would you still have made him? BROOKS KOEPKA: No, I would have given him if it was two feet. If it was close enough I would have given it to him. It wasn't exactly a straight putt. Q. That's the one green that sort of has that downhill? BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, exactly. It's a little tricky, mine even swung a little bit more than I thought it would. It all depends. Q. Can you explain, if you even have a philosophy, on when and where you'll concede a putt? BROOKS KOEPKA: If it's close, I feel like the guy is going to make it I'll give it to him. If it's a tap in, you better, I'd be pissed off. Q. That's what I mean. What if you don't‑‑ your opponent doesn't concede what you consider a gimme? BROOKS KOEPKA: Start jiggling the pocket. No, you have to putt it out in a tournament, anyway. So obviously in your mind if it's a gimme, you should make it anyway, so it's not a big deal. Q. But people do get upset if they're made to do it. BROOKS KOEPKA: I guess guys get a bit touchy. It doesn't matter, as long as the ball goes in, whether he gives it to you or you tap in a two‑footer, it should be good, anyway. Q. I guess when I'm asking people this question, the Europeans tend to be almost uniformly like, hey, that philosophy‑‑ BROOKS KOEPKA: You can play a little bit of mind games, too. You can pull a driver off the tee, just pull it out of the bag and make him think that you're going to go for it, stuff like that. You can play little mind games in a tournament. But I didn't do any of that today. I don't care, I just do what I want to do. I guess either way, if you play good, guys are so good that you shouldn't anyways. Q. It almost sounds like you can take it to an extreme where you're messing yourself up while trying to play mind games on your opponent? BROOKS KOEPKA: Not really. It doesn't matter, I don't think. I think it's one of those things if you play good golf‑‑ you can play little mind games, but you're not‑‑ for me, I'm not really going to. I don't really care that much. I don't really care what the guy does. He's going to do what he's going to do. There's nothing I can do to stop it. If he's going to hit a good shot in three feet, I mean, hats off to him. Q. And the problem is you get drawn into it, then you're actually playing into it. BROOKS KOEPKA: I just worry about myself. I'm not really worried about anyone else. Q. Can you remind me, how much match play experience did you have‑‑ BROOKS KOEPKA: Played NCAAs, didn't make any of the U.S. juniors, U.S. Am played a little bit, and junior golf. Not a ton, but a little bit. Q. Were you in Chambers in 2010? BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I was. I didn't make match play in any of the U.S. Am, U.S. juniors, wasn't good enough. Q. Isn't that amazing? BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I know. Q. What did you think of Chambers the one day you saw it? BROOKS KOEPKA: It was good. Some of the changes they made were necessary. It's a tough golf course. If the wind blows and you get a little bit of weather, it runs up the score. Q. Do you go up for a visit? BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I went up Sunday. It was good. Q. Some guys are a little‑‑ BROOKS KOEPKA: I don't care. Even if it is bad, you've got to change your mindset and think it's good. If you go in with a negative attitude, you're probably going to play bad. It's that simple. Q. What's the trickiest part of the golf course? BROOKS KOEPKA: It's knowing where you can miss it and where you can't. With some of the changes, they've kind of leveled out some of the greens. No.7, they moved some dirt around, and No.1 they took out a bank off the side. So they were necessary, but it's also one of those things that if you just hit a bad golf shot, you're going to be screwed, and that's a U.S. Open golf course. Q. Mike Davis said that the guy needs to really see it for three or four practice rounds to even‑‑ before the tournament? BROOKS KOEPKA: We'll go up early again. We'll probably fly up on Saturday, and maybe Saturday play nine holes, Sunday, something like that, get a few extra rounds in. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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