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THE BARCLAYSAugust 26, 2015Brooks KoepkaEdison, New Jersey JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Brooks Koepka, thanks for joining us here today. First round of The Barclays, 12th in the FedExCup standings thanks to a win earlier this year at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, and coming off three straight Top-10s. So obviously you're in some great form. If you wanted to start with some opening comments about your first foray into the Playoffs. BROOKS KOEPKA: First off, it's nice to actually be in the Playoffs. Obviously last year, wasn't able to play. But to get here is exciting. This is where everybody sets their goals in the beginning of the year to get here and to have a chance to win is what you want. JOEL SCHUCHMANN: What's been working for you the last three weeks or so? BROOKS KOEPKA: I've been hitting the ball really well the last few weeks. It's starting to click. For a while there, I felt I was playing really well and just not getting anything out of my game, as far as the last, what is it, three weeks, just everything seems to come together. Last week was a little bit disappointing. I think I putted it about as bad as I could. It was probably the worst putting performance of my pro career. But you've got to look at the positives. I hit the ball well. I chipped it well. My approach to the game, how I'm seeing shots, how I'm seeing things going in is unbelievable right now. I just need to carry that over this week and obviously putt a little better. Q. Because it's your first Playoffs, have you talked to other guys about kind of the way these four weeks sort of play out? Jordan talked about this year; that it basically boils down to if you win East Lake, you win it all. Have you kind of gotten that same impression? BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, just from watching it years previous. You want to be in that top five. I think if you win at East Lake and you're basically in the top five, you're going to win. I've done a good job, put myself close enough now where all I need is, you know, hopefully a couple victories in these last few events because I feel like I've been playing well enough. I haven't spoken to many of the guys to be honest with you. I'm not big on asking other people on how everything's going because I kind of got a different approach to everything. I'm just going about it my own way. I grew up watching it, I guess you could say, over the last few years, so I've got an understanding of what it takes. Q. What kind of experience do you have in the northeast, these next two weeks, New York. BROOKS KOEPKA: I think just playing amateur golf, I think, what is it you have the Northeast Amateur -- like playing amateur golf, you're up here quite a bit, especially during the summertime. It's too hot down south. I've played up here quite a bit. It's the same thing, all the greens, kind back to front, shorts to miss, things like that. The rough is always thick around the greens. It's basically the same thing. I've got some experience, but this golf course is a little different than I guess the rest I've played because the rough is so penalizing. Q. How much is the other Cup on your mind, The Presidents Cup? BROOKS KOEPKA: That was the goal. That's why I played last week. That's why I've done the last -- I don't know what it is, 14 out of 18 weeks. Some of them have been in Europe, something like that. But I've played a lot just because I want to make it. That was the goal at the beginning of the year was to make The Presidents Cup team. I mean, I don't think I want to be a pick. I don't think anybody wants to be a pick. You're trying to make it on your own. Obviously you win this week or next week, you're giving yourself a chance for the FedExCup and then basically I think you're on The Presidents Cup team. So that's the goal. Get a win here early and win East Lake. Q. Do you have any problems not thinking about it when you're inside the ropes? BROOKS KOEPKA: No. I don't think about anything inside the ropes, it's pretty -- (laughter). No matter what's going on, whether be it things in your life, whatever it is, I drop all that once I'm inside the ropes. I'm here to play golf, not really think about anything else. As dumb as that sounds, I think it's the best way to be. Q. You said you ever not spoken to other players too much about their FedExCup strategies because you have a different approach. What approach is that and how does it differ from other players? BROOKS KOEPKA: Just go play good golf. It all takes care of itself. I think if you play well enough -- I mean, you're going to be fine. You pop a couple wins, you're going to be there. It's the same thing. You've just got to have the same approach you did all year. It's worked out the rest of the year, so I'm not going to change anything. Q. Have you ever played this much of a stretch, 14 out of 18; is that what you said? BROOKS KOEPKA: I think so. I think I did -- last year was a lot, too. I know there was a big stretch last year because I was basically over here and in Europe. But that was more flying across country, doing things like that. I would check on it but I think I have. I've played quite a few. This year has been a little different, obviously trying to make The Presidents Cup team. That's been a goal from the beginning of the year to make it. I feel like I'm on a path to do it. I just need to pop a win and get inside that Top-10. Q. Would you mind being a pick? BROOKS KOEPKA: I don't want to be a pick. I want to be inside that Top-10. Nobody wants to be a pick. That's the way I look at it. You want to feel like you earn your right on the team, and that's something that's important to me. I mean, if I'm a pick, it doesn't matter at the end of the day, you're still on the team. I guess it's just more motivation for me to play well these next two weeks. Q. What do you do on a golf course like this; do you hit driver a lot? BROOKS KOEPKA: Well, my theory is if I hit driver and I hit it in the rough, I'm going to have a lot less in than if I hit 3-wood or a hybrid in the rough. So that's kind of what I'm doing, that's kind of my theory. Hit a lot of drivers. We drive the ball so well; to take driver out of your hands is kind of -- it's tough. You've got to play to your strengths and I drive the ball really well. I just think, too, you're getting it closer to the hole. Q. What did you hit on 10? BROOKS KOEPKA: We hit 3-wood on 10. But I'm not bad with 3-wood either. It goes most of the distance -- we can get it up to 300 but it goes like most guys driver. Q. What does 18 look like to you? BROOKS KOEPKA: 18, we drove it -- we didn't hit the best of drive but we were right on the front of the green. I think we were five steps off the front. It was playing a little into the breeze, too. I think it's a great hole, cool finishing hole. Q. It's another one to lay up, isn't it? BROOKS KOEPKA: If you have the length. I don't see why anybody would. If you can get it up on the front of the green -- anywhere right of the green, you're fine. It's left is where you're going to see a lot of trouble. Opens up the green to chipping uphill, things like that. But you've got to use your length to an advantage, and all of the bombers, I doubt anybody will be laying that up. Q. Another one coming in, I don't know if it's 16 or 17, it's a little bit quirky off the tee. BROOKS KOEPKA: Actually there was one we were kind of having a problem to figure out what to do. It's a dog-leg right, I'm trying to remember -- Q. 17, right before 18. BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, sorry, I wouldn't remember. All the holes are blending together. (Laughter). 17 is kind of an interesting one because obviously with the out-of-bounds kind of coming in on the right, that's one hole you definitely want to be in the fairway. But at the same time, it just suits me really well to hit driver. I mean, you're running into a little bit of a bottleneck up there. But also, at the same time, you'd be hitting 7-iron, 8-iron, if you hit hybrid off the tee. Whereas, you have a little flip wedge if you are hitting driver, and if you do hit in the rough, so be it. It will be interesting to see kind of where the wind is. I think it's going to be dependent on that. But that's the one that we found was most interesting for us, a little bit -- it's kind of a tweener. Q. Is there another drivable one on the front, 4 maybe? BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, we just hit driver everywhere. Just simple. Q. You ever play with Cabrera? BROOKS KOEPKA: No, I haven't. I haven't played with him. Q. It's a pity. You guys would like each other I think. BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah? Q. How many drivers did you hit last week? BROOKS KOEPKA: Last week, we actually hit quite a bit more than people think. We probably hit six, seven a round. Q. Same concept? BROOKS KOEPKA: Sometimes you can carry the bunkers. Like the bunkers I think were 290 carry sometimes, so just bomb it over those. You can take a bunker out, might as well. No point in laying it up. Q. And the rough wasn't nearly as thick? BROOKS KOEPKA: No, the rough wasn't bad last week. It was all right. So I think if you did hit it in the rough or you did hit it kind of off-line you always had a shot last week. But I think you did have to plot your way around the golf course last week, and you're going to have to this week. It's just -- a lot of it depends on pin locations, too. Because there's always a side out here you can miss on. There always seems to be trees on one side the rough is laying down or with you on the other side. So you just have to know where your misses are. Q. You ever thrown a club? BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I was a bit of a hothead back in college. I was really a hothead. In my senior year in high school, maybe going into freshman year. I really worked on it. I really had to work on it. Q. What kind of transition was that from hothead to chill? How do we do this? BROOKS KOEPKA: It was actually really hard. I really struggled with it for a year, year and a half, was kind of in between sometimes. I just couldn't accept a bad shot. Like sometimes -- I'm such a good ball-striker, I had a hard time sometimes with maybe you got 7-iron into the green and I would hit it to 15 feet and be disgusted, like wanting to slam a club. But you've still got a chance at birdie. I don't get how I did it but I was a bit of a hothead. Looking at it now, it's just kind of funny. I just watch other people get angry, slam clubs, do this, do that. The ball went forward and it's not out-of-bounds; you've got a shot. That's the way I see it. As long as it's been the white stakes and it went forward, you're good. Q. Did you ever break a club? BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, yeah, I've broken a few. Q. What's the best one? BROOKS KOEPKA: What's the best one? I remember -- this one was funny. I was back, must have been like 12 years old, I was with my brother on the putting green. We were having some putting competition. And for some reason, I was in the habit of just kicking my putter, and I kicked it right in the shaft and the head just went flying. I mean, it was a putting competition on the putting green and we had not even gone out to play. It wasn't for money or for anything else. Like what's the big deal. (Laughter) I guess I was mad my brother was beating me. Q. I think one of the great moments of the year was your laughter coming off Torrey after a 5-putt, or was it an 8-putt. BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, it was funny. My caddie, Ricky, he told me, we were walking off the green, and he asked me if I wanted the good news or the bad news. I said, "I'll take the good." He goes, "You were on green in two instead of three." (Laughter) Like stuff like that, you've just got to -- I'm not trying to 5-putt. I'm not trying to do anything. I'm trying to hit it close in the hole. I'm trying to make every putt. But it doesn't always work that way, I know that. And at least you can accept it. But I struggled with it a little bit -- it's just expectations a lot. I think that has to do with the way you go about it. I remember I was watching I think Doral, maybe two years ago, and my expectations, I wanted to be out here, be out on the PGA TOUR playing. I remember Dustin hit it right and he actually hit a cart path, the cart path, it was like raised up maybe an inch or two, hit it and came back to him. And I heard him laughing. I always thought that was interesting. Because I started to struggle with expectations and things like that, and I was getting a little heated. I just remember sitting there thinking, wow, like that's how I want to be. I want to be somebody that can let things just roll off their back. I think that's why he's so good, too. Nothing affects him. One shot on one hole; he hits one bad shot, so what. Still got 17 more. You look at, what was it, PGA this year. I mean, that was impressive. So you've got to have that attitude. Don't get me wrong, we all care, a lot. But, it's just what you see, sometimes -- nobody's trying to screw up. And once you can accept that, you're fine. Q. Do you ever play much with him? BROOKS KOEPKA: With Dustin? Q. Were you players at Medalist -- BROOKS KOEPKA: I'm Medalist. We hang out a lot. We hang out a lot when we are at home. Played quite a few practice rounds together. Kind of the same personality guess, so it's easy, hit driver everywhere, hit it long, same thing. Q. Laugh it off. BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah. Q. You got anything else, Brooks? BROOKS KOEPKA: No, I'm good. Q. You got anything for us? BROOKS KOEPKA: No, I'm good (smiling). FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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