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FEDEX ST. JUDE CLASSICJune 11, 2015Brooks KoepkaMEMPHIS, TENNESSEE Q. Brooks, 64. Must be delighted? BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, played very well today. Been struggling of late and changed strategy, try to play a little less aggressive, and it worked out today. Q. How does that suddenly click in, taking a less aggressive, tactical approach, perhaps? BROOKS KOEPKA: I've been having a lot of high numbers, lot of double bogies. You can't really attack. On this golf course you put yourself in the wrong position, you're going to be in trouble scrambling to make bogies. Put myself in good positions all day. Q. You had a win earlier this season in the Waste Management. How much does a round like today help to rebuild confidence in what lies ahead the rest of this week? BROOKS KOEPKA: Like I said, I've been struggling. This is big. To fire a low round, it's important, and I kind of last minute last week, felt like I needed to play, to come and play well, especially with the U.S. Open next week. It's good for the confidence. Q. Talked to Luke Donald earlier. He was giving us his thoughts on that. What do you expect of the U.S. Open next week? BROOKS KOEPKA: Obviously I've played the U.S. Am four years ago, whatever. I've got a little bit of experience. Went there before Match Play. I think it's perfect for bombers. A great course. Fairways are 60 yards wide, hundred yards wide, feels like. Hit it over 300 yards, it's paradise for you. Q. Made a few changes since the Amateur. BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah. The changes they made were absolutely necessary on some of the holes. 1, 7 set out to me. They were necessary. It's going to be a good test of golf. Q. Not going quite as aggressive. Is that the same thing you're going to need next week? BROOKS KOEPKA: You got to understand the U.S. Open, par is pretty good. You kind of aim at the middle of the greens, you're going to have no more than a 25, 30-foot putt and sometimes par, even bogey is okay. Try not to get double bogies or triple bogies. Q. We wish you well for next week. That 6-under we wish you all the rest for the rest of the week. BROOKS KOEPKA: Thanks. Q. Changed your strategy just a little bit over the past few weeks, been struggling. BROOKS KOEPKA: To get the ball rolling here in the first round is nice and hopefully build on that confidence the rest of the week. Q. Beginning of the season you made it look easy, had a bunch of Top-10s and that win. What did you change in your strategy to set you up for success today? BROOKS KOEPKA: Expectations changed. I put a little bit more pressure on myself, trying to win and make things happen. You can't do that out here. Just played to the middle of the greens. Some pins you can go at, some you can't. I wasn't understanding that well and just had to kind of sit back and reevaluate the rounds. To play a little less aggressive is sometimes more beneficial. Q. I know you're familiar with Chambers Bay. How are you going to use this week to get your game ready for the U.S. Open? BROOKS KOEPKA: We added in one kind of last minute trying to get ready for Chambers. Felt like I needed a few more rounds under my belt to really -- I was playing good golf, wasn't scoring well. To finally throw a low one at them today is a confidence boost. Q. Brooks, hot one out there. Take a cold shower. See you later. BROOKS KOEPKA: Thanks. Q. Nice round today obviously to finish birdie, birdie, post 64, it's got to be exciting? BROOKS KOEPKA: Nice way to start the tournament, 6-under is always good no matter where you're at. This course is in beautiful shape. The greens are rolling really good. Nice to be one of the first ones out and beat the heat a little bit, but nice to open up with a good round. Q. When you come in and you post that kind of number, and not only that, but you birdie coming in the last couple of holes, momentum-wise that's got to feel great as you head into tomorrow. BROOKS KOEPKA: It feels good to play a little better. I've been struggling with my own expectations lately. And to kind of pull the reins back and play a little safer, play a little less aggressive, it's nice to see it kind of pay off. Q. Most of the guys, that's what they're saying, this is not an aggressive golf course. You go after it here, it may pay off two out of ten times and get you in trouble a lot more than it will help out. Is that the kind of golf course it is? BROOKS KOEPKA: It is. You've got to be able to put the ball in the right spots. To me it's been expectations. My expectations been a little too high. When you're able to kind of put it in the center of the greens, give yourself uphill putts, that makes this golf course a lot easier, and being in the fairway helps a lot. Q. Brooks, how did you come to that decision? You just talking about this -- BROOKS KOEPKA: Looking at the stats and my coaches and things like that, kind of having a little pow-wow. I felt like I was playing really well. Wasn't scoring well. Too many double bogies and being a little too aggressive is the only reason it happened. You can put yourself in bad situations out here pretty quick. With the way the PGA TOUR sets up the pins and things like that, if you're on the wrong side, you're really in trouble. Q. Were you somewhat undecided about coming here or did you sign up late Friday afternoon or -- BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah. We signed up I think Friday or committed Friday. It was important for me. I needed a few more rounds to help to try to find the confidence that -- find my good play. I've been playing well, just don't feel like I'm getting the results. And I felt like I just needed another week to really figure it out, and it's nice to figure it out a little bit. Q. You really hadn't planned to come here prior to the -- BROOKS KOEPKA: We were going to take a week off, go home and work on things. Just the way I was playing, wasn't very happy. And I felt like if I got one more tournament under my belt, I felt like I would be in good shape for next week. Q. Good decision then? BROOKS KOEPKA: I'm pretty happy with it right now. Q. You mentioned the injury. What is it that you're battling right now? BROOKS KOEPKA: Dislocated a rib early on. Had to take a little time off, about a month. It was fine. Augusta I wasn't healthy. The first I was really hundred percent for was Match Play. I haven't played too much golf since then. At the beginning of the year, I didn't play much. Just kind of amped up the schedule a little bit. It's been key to the success, I guess. Q. (Inaudible) BROOKS KOEPKA: We played last year. I'm not really sure. Maybe Top 20, 15. Something like that. Nothing too exciting. Q. It's exciting now? BROOKS KOEPKA: It's getting better now. Obviously still three more days, anything can happen. But looking forward to the next three days and trying to test this new theory, new game plan out. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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