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THE 147TH OPEN

July 17, 2018

Brooks Koepka

Angus, Scotland, United Kingdom

STUART MOFFATT: We'll get started. Delighted to say I'm joined by the two-time U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka in the interview room.

Brooks, you were very much in contention at Royal Birkdale last year. How much are you looking forward to challenging again for The Open at Carnoustie this week?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Obviously it feels nice to be back inside the ropes playing again. Carnoustie is obviously a tough test, but I love links golf. So I'm looking forward to it. A lot of creativity you're going to have to have out there with the fairways being so firm and the greens being a little softer probably than most links golf courses.

But it should be a great week. The golf course is set up really well, and it will be fun.

Q. Brooks, spinning off of what you just said a little bit, obviously, your strength is your length so much, and it worked out, obviously, extremely well two years ago at Erin Hills, and then obviously you had to kind of dial things back a bit at Shinnecock, to some degree. Did that kind of show a little bit that you're not kind of a one-trick pony in terms of your length and that being your only major asset, so to speak? And how does that play into being creative this week?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Well, I think I've always been one of the best putters. I know statistically, I think we're always top ten inside eight feet. So I just don't think many people know that. They get infatuated with distance, and they only see that. Yeah, we do hit it long, but there's quite a few guys who do hit it much further than I do.

I'm a good putter. My short game's come a long way in the last few years. Maybe the last five years it's gotten tremendously better from where it was. And I always strike it well. I'm always a good iron player, fairly aggressive sometimes, but in the majors we kind of tone it back and just hit centre of the greens and let the putter take over from there.

Yeah, I mean, I can take advantage of long golf courses, but I enjoy plotting my way around probably more than the bombers' golf courses where you've got to think, be very cautious sometimes, laid back, and firing at the centre of the greens. You've got to be very disciplined, and that's the kind of golf I enjoy.

Q. As a quick follow on that, from what you've seen practise-wise here the last day or two, how many drivers will you hit, do you think, or if any? Maybe just on the par fives?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I think there's eight or nine, eight or nine drivers we hit. Depending on the wind direction, we could hit more. It's so burnt out, where there's a lot of opportunity where the rough's not quite as thick as I expected it to be. Coming here I knew it was obviously a very warm summer, not much rain, but I still thought you play the golf course with a lot of irons off the tee, lay back to the bunkers. But sometimes we can just take all the bunkers out by hitting driver. Especially no rough, if you can get it within 40 yards of the green, why not? Guys on Sunday were driving it into the Burn on 18. There's no reason not to take advantage of that, especially with the rough being not so thick.

There's some spots where it is thick. It seems to be -- the one place you can't miss it on every hole. It seems to be a little thicker on one side, but you just take that side out of play.

Q. Brooks, you say "we" and a lot of people say "we", and it really seems to be sort of a team mentality with the caddie. I wonder, what's that process like for you? What do you ask of a caddie? And is it particularly important on a week like this, when you sort of have to think your way through a round? And maybe put a little more thought into shots.
BROOKS KOEPKA: I mean, I just say "we". I can start saying "I". It doesn't really matter. I mean, a lot goes into it. Every decision I make is bounced off my caddie. Everything we do on the golf course, it's a decision I might make, or sometimes he's got to pull the reins back and be like, "Listen, you need to hit the centre of the green. There's no reason to go at this flag", and he'll kind of exaggerate it a little bit how bad it's going to be if I go at the flag, stuff like that.

But it is a team effort. Everyone's grinding, trying to make sure that I'm playing the best I can, you know, have a good game plan and attacking the golf course the way I should be. And once it comes to Thursday, it's just me and Ricky (Elliott). That's it. Those are the only two people that can do anything, the only two people on the golf course. As long as we've got a good game plan, I should be all right.

Q. What's faster, Brooks, the fairways here or the greens Saturday at Shinnecock?
BROOKS KOEPKA: That's interesting. Shinnecock. These are just obviously --

Q. By a smidge?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, just by a smidge.

Q. What was kind of the first moment when you got here, when you realized how much they were rolling? And what kind of immediate adjustments did you make in terms of what you're doing off the tee?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, obviously, when you got here, you saw how brown it was, burnt out, and there's no grass for the ball. If it hits a downslope, it's just going to keep running. It's very burnt out.

As far as adjustments, you just got to make sure -- you're going to get some crazy bounces, and they might bounce into some bunkers, and they might roll an extra 30 yards. Sometimes you've got to kind of expect that. We talked about sometimes, if you hit into the slope, you could be 30 yards back here, not get the roll that you expected, or you could hit the downslope of it and you're an extra 30, 40 yards longer than where you should. Why did I end up here? It could be a case of that very easily.

It will be very interesting. I think you're going to see quite a few bad breaks where guys, almost the caddie could say, there's no way you could reach this bunker. We were hitting 4 iron, I think, over 320 yards on some holes.

I think the interesting one is going to be 15. It's very hard to hold that fairway, being left to right. I think the predominant wind is basically down out of the left there a little bit, and you almost have to hook. I mean, we were hooking 5 irons, landing them in the left side of the fairway, and they're still rolling through almost into the gorse.

I mean, you're trying to take the bunkers off, but yet if you get a good bounce, it could be up in the gorse. So it's very interesting.

Q. Did you hear that Harrington drove it in the Burn on 18? Did you believe it?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I mean, I could see it. It hit a little downslope, and there's no grass to stop it. Once that ball keeps rolling, it's not going to stop. It will be very interesting. If you get a front pin and you land it on the green a pace or two, but if you land it short by a yard or two, you could be 30 yards over the green very easily. Nothing's stopping if it comes in hot.

So I think a lot of it will depend on pin locations. I think they can tuck them a bit more with the conditions if it doesn't blow 30. And then you put them more to the front, more to the back, and see. You can watch balls just kind of roll over the greens, or more imagination will be used.

Q. You won the Scottish Hydro Challenge in 2013 in Aviemore. How good does it feel to be coming back to Scotland and playing here?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Good. It feels good to be back. I enjoy links golf. I think it's so much fun to play because of the creativity you can use. I think I step over a shot, and I could see seven to ten different ways to play the shot. To me that's fun, and you start using your imagination, and it really -- really the best player will win this week. I think that's always the case with links golf, where you're trying to avoid the bunkers. Obviously, they're a penalty, a penalty shot. Going into one of those, and you try to take as many of those out of play.

But it's a fun test of golf, and I'm excited to be back and hopefully play well this week.

Q. You've obviously won back-to-back U.S. Opens. What would it mean to you to win The Open Championship here at Carnoustie?
BROOKS KOEPKA: It would be unbelievable, obviously. The last major I played I won, so I've got confidence. And then you come here, and I think it would be amazing to win a major at The Open. I think it's special to me. Obviously, starting over here, beginning my career here in Europe and playing a few links courses, but mainly around Europe, it would mean a lot. It really would.

Q. Brooks, you got a check for about 35 grand when you won that Scottish Hydro Challenge five years ago. Now I think you've gotten over a million dollars in the U.S. Open. Does it seem surreal it's come that quickly in a short space of time? When you come back here, do you think this is sort of where it all began for me, this is where my career really took off?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, exactly. That's kind of the thought process I have. I didn't have any options, really many, when I turned pro except to come over here and play. I enjoyed it. And I know I've said this a million times, it was the most fun I've ever had playing golf. Probably the funnest time of my life coming over here and playing. I enjoyed it way more than I probably do now, playing on the Tour.

You know, going to dinners with -- you've got a group of seven or eight guys in the States, and you just kind of have your team and other people you're around, wife, girlfriend, guys go home to them. You don't see guys coming out for dinner, watching the football matches, things like that. I mean, it was a bunch of fun. I really enjoyed it. It was by far the most exciting time in my life.

Q. Obviously, your career has gone in the stratosphere since then, but do you kind of miss it? Do you miss going out for a couple of beers after a round? It seems like a more relaxed way to go about it.
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, it's definitely more relaxed. It's more of a -- you know, when we were playing, it felt like the whole Tour was on the plane, and then you'd get there, and there's two hotels, and everybody is staying in a small town, and everybody goes into the town and eats together. I found that so much fun. The whole restaurant is basically guys that are playing the event and their families or whatever, but everyone would go out, and it was so much fun. I really did enjoy that part of it. It was cool.

Looking back on it, I probably -- I wish it probably could have lasted a little bit longer, but then part of me doesn't because I can move on. But it was so much fun, man. It really was. I can think back jamming like four guys into a taxicab. I forget where we were, Kenya or something like that, but it was fun. Those are memories I'll probably have for the rest of my life.

Q. Brooks, in talking to you and Claude after Shinnecock, it was pretty clear that the fact that you were kind of overlooked in the large picture fuelled you a little bit. I know you haven't teed it up really since then, but I just wonder if there's been any evidence of that changing a little bit for you, or if you expect it to be a little bit more of a spotlight on you or more profile or more expectation or anything like that?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I mean, I still feel that way. I mean, it's kind of funny. I remember we were -- who was it? Someone told me they were laughing. I guess ESPN or something like that on their Instagram page, someone was showing it to me, the day we won, they've got like Odell Beckham dunking a basketball. It's like, well, he should be able to. He's like 6'2". He's got hops, we all know that, and he's got hands. So what's impressive about that?

But I always try to find something where I feel like I'm kind of the underdog and kind of put that little chip on my shoulder. Even if you're No. 1, you've got to find a way to keep going and keep that little chip on and try to get better and better. But I think I've done a good job of that. I need to continue doing that because, once you're satisfied, I mean, you're only going to go downhill from there. You try to find something to get better and better, and that's what I'm trying to do.

Q. As a two-time U.S. Open winner, what's the next step? What's the next step in terms of how you convince yourself -- obviously, maybe you manufacture some things like that to feel like you're disrespected or whatever; a lot of athletes do that. What's your next tactic on that?
BROOKS KOEPKA: To win this week. I'm teeing it up this week. So I've got -- I mean, I'm 28 years old. I've got quite a few more majors to play, quite a few more tournaments to play. I've got a number in mind that I want to get to and try to beat that. You know, that's the goal. And if I can get there, win that many majors and that many Tour events, it will be -- I can look back at it and say it was a successful career.

But, you know, right now I'm focused on just winning. That's the only thing I've got in my mind. Second place just isn't good enough. I finished second a lot and just tired of it. Once you win too, it kind of propels you. You kind of have this mindset where you just want to keep winning. It breeds confidence, yes, but you just -- you want to have that feeling of gratification of, I finally did this. How cool is this? You think of when you're seven years old on the putting green and you're hitting putts to win The Open Championship, U.S. Open, Masters, PGA, whatever it might be, and then when that finally becomes a reality, it is pretty cool.

Q. What number in mind do you have?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I'm not telling you guys. Can't tell you.

Q. On that Scottish Hydro Challenge, A, where was it? Do you remember?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Aberdeen, I believe.

Q. Was that the one where you flew down to Sunningdale the next day and qualified for the Open?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah. As I was taking a taxi, we got a flat tire. So I had to help the guy change his tire on the way down. Then, yeah, went on the next morning and played.

Q. From those days, without getting into too many more details about taxi rides and strange restaurants, how hard is it to convince yourself that you're as good as anyone in the world when you're not playing against the best in the world? How do you use that path in terms of building your confidence?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Well, I always felt I was good enough. I felt like there was certain steps I kind of had to take. You know, it's hard to be that person that comes out and gets -- you know, Jordan Spieth, comes out, seven starts, and you've got your Tour card, or however many starts it took him. I think it probably took him like five or whatever it is. I mean, that doesn't happen.

I knew that I had to go through the Challenge Tour and just work up that progression -- Challenge Tour, European Tour, PGA Tour, and then finally become the best player in the world.

But there's certain steps, and I just embraced it. I think that's where a lot of guys go wrong. You are where you are, and make the best of it instead of just guys put their heads down and they're like, well, I should be on the PGA Tour or I should be on the European Tour. Well, guess what? You're not. So you've got to -- suck it up where you're at, make the best of it, and keep plugging along and try to win everything you can because eventually, if you're good enough, you will get out here.

Q. Do you think, if you had done what Jordan did -- because you guys tied at Q school, if I'm not mistaken, if I'm right. If you had gotten an exception and flew your way to a second-place finish and had a card, you wouldn't be where you are now?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, but I wasn't going to get any exemptions. That's the only thing.

Q. You have to work with me on this, man. The point is do you feel like you needed to go through some of these steps and kind of this minor league right to where you are now?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Looking back now, yeah, I absolutely did. At the time, I wanted to be, I guess, Jordan Spieth, go out there, get the exemptions, do it. But looking back, I don't think I would be where I am today. I don't think I'd be sitting here with two majors if I didn't do that. I think it really helped me grow as a person, grow my golf game, and like I said, it's the best time in my life. I don't regret anything coming over here. It really is beneficial for me, but in the same sense, I don't think everybody can do it. I don't think it's made for everybody.

Q. Brooks, last year I don't believe you played an event between the two Opens. This year you obviously had the Travelers. Was there anything else different in terms of your rest, your celebration, and your preparation this year as opposed to last year?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I played more golf this year than I did last year. I played three times, or I hit balls three times, from Travelers till Sunday. It was pretty much the same thing. I shared it with one of my best friends, my family, and it was pretty much the same routine, to be honest with you.

It was fun. We enjoyed it. But I'm excited to get back inside the ropes and start playing again. I think you need to enjoy it any time you win and really embrace what you -- think about what you've just done and the fact that it was, I guess, the first time in however many years, 20-some years. You know, really reflect on that and enjoy it, and then I've got to go get another major. That's the thought process right now.

Q. Brooks, since you're not going to tell us a number, can you at least tell us if you're on schedule? Are you ahead of schedule? I can't imagine that you're behind schedule.
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I actually am where I think I should be. I mean, I've had plenty of chances. I don't even know how many top tens or fives we've had. You look back at The Open at St. Andrews, lost ball right there, probably -- I think we finished three behind. We were playing behind Tiger, and nobody could find the golf ball. Made triple on the hole on 12, easy hole. You make par there, you never know.

And then I thought the PGA that Jimmy won, I had my ankle injury and then trying to play however many holes, it just didn't work on the back nine. I was just dead. I couldn't even push off it.

But to be in contention there, I thought I should have probably squeaked one of those away. But, yeah, one behind schedule, I guess you could say. But, yeah, I've got some work to do, and I'm looking forward to it.

Q. Brooks, I believe it was before your first U.S. Open title that you said as a kid that you wanted to be a baseball player, and maybe at times golf could even be a little bit boring. Just wondering, now that you have two Open titles and can challenge for a third on a course that takes a lot of creativity, do you still feel that same way about being a baseball player?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I mean, I know I picked the right sport. I do know that. Yes, baseball to me is probably more exciting. Golf can be a bit dull at times. To me, I enjoy just watching the guys pitch. When they're throwing fastballs at 98, hitting the corners, right on the corner, stuff like that, just such a good pitch, a curveball. It just makes a guy just shake his head and walk back to the dugout. That to me is interesting.

I mean, it's easy to say because you ask most of these guys, and they wish -- baseball players, football players, basketball players, they're all trying to play golf. So it's the same thing. You always want to be doing something you're not.

But, no, I know I picked the right sport, and I'm glad I picked golf.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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