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RBC CANADIAN OPEN

July 25, 2018

Brooks Koepka

Oakville, Ontario, Canada

THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome Brooks Koepka into the interview room here at the RBC Canadian Open. He's making his second start at this event. He finished tied for 18th in 2015. If we can get some comments on the week ahead.

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, obviously it's exciting. It's nice to be back in Canada, in Toronto. It's a good place. I love the city. It's fun, and then this golf course is a great golf course, good test, especially after last week. It's nice to have some soft green grass, and this finish can really make for an exciting finish. Looking forward to the week.

THE MODERATOR: Quite a year for you already, winning again at the U.S. Open. You come into the week No. 13 in the FedExCup standings. Talk a little bit about your season up to this point and your goals as the FedExCup Playoffs loom.

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, obviously the first four months were disappointing, missing that much time, that much time off. But ever since I've come back, I've obviously played well. I feel like my game is in a good spot, and right now is kind of a critical time with the Playoffs coming up. You've got a WGC next week, and then another major to follow it up. Need to be playing well. I feel like my game is in good shape, and I'll try to get that No. 1 on the FedExCup.

THE MODERATOR: You just played the back nine here at Glen Abbey. Comment on the conditions out there and what we can expect this week.

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, the conditions of the golf course are great. It's nice to have a soft, receptive golf course. The greens, they're perfect speed that you want them. They're probably rolling about 11 and a half, maybe 12, and the rough is up a little bit, especially in the morning you see some moisture out there, and it can be quite difficult. If you're going to miss fairways and try to hold the green, especially with some front pin locations, that ball is going to release quite a bit to the back of the green.

It'll be a really good test this week.

Q. How does this fit into -- when you decide to come to Canada for this, when you look at your schedule for the week, is it something you just determine at the beginning of the year? Where does this fit in when you look at the year for you?
BROOKS KOEPKA: We kind of had to reevaluate. Missing four months, the schedule got completely flipped around for me. I'm having to play a lot right now to play some events because I missed so much time. You fall back in that FedExCup. I remember just looking at it every once in a while. You just keep going backwards and backwards and backwards. I felt -- missing a major isn't fun. That's a good place to really jump.

So just trying to play as much as I can right now, and trying to get to that No. 1.

Q. When Nike got out of hard goods and got out of clubs, you kind of famously looked like you just sort of searched for what worked for you. Is that still the case? You're just sort of using what you want to use as opposed to being necessarily paid to use, and if that's the case, how do you go about making that decision?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, obviously it was a little disappointing when Nike got out of the club business, but it also opened up some good opportunities. You can kind of play whatever you want. You're not glued into anything. If some new manufacturer comes out with a driver, a wedge, some irons that you particularly like, you've got the freedom to go play it, go try it and do what you want. You're not glued to anything, which is kind of the beauty of it.

I think having so many different options for your clubs, your ball, anything, it makes it a lot easier for me. I'm not glued to -- they've got new equipment, I have to play this driver because it's the newest model. I don't have to do that. I can find whatever works for me and put that in the bag and keep that in the bag.

Q. You're sticking with that strategy because I assume after the U.S. Open lots of people have come with money offers to say, hey, can you come play this for us?
BROOKS KOEPKA: No, I'm happy with what I've got in the bag. I don't see any reason to switch. It seems to be working, so I'll stick with it.

Q. What are the challenges of the 18th hole in relationship to the risk-reward that it involves?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Well, it's a tough tee shot for me, fading the ball. It brings those far right traps into play, where you probably saw Tiger hit, whatever it was, 6-iron, 7-iron, right out of that bunker, and if you get jammed up by that lip, you never know what kind of lie you're going to get, whether you can even go for the green, because it's not really much fun chopping it out and hitting a wedge onto the green. You can cheat it a little bit on the left-hand side, but then again, for anybody -- if you're going to pull the ball a little bit, it's going to go a little further, but also the flight on it is going to be a little lower, so it might not always carry those bunkers on the left. But it's an important shot. These last couple holes you can really make up some ground. You need to be able to drive the ball in the fairway at this golf course. You need to be in the fairway, control your spin, and you'll have a good chance at making three threes to end your round.

Q. As a guy who's played the week before the U.S. Open each of the last five years, next year's Canadian Open is going to move to that slot. Does it seem likely that you'll probably continue that trend?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I like playing the week before. I think it's good prep to know where your game is at. I wouldn't be surprised if the golf course, they grow the rough up just to kind of imitate, I guess, Pebble a little bit. The only problem is you're going East Coast to West Coast and then back to East Coast, so you might see some guys not play, just for the fact that they're playing the week after. But if they're not playing the week after, I don't see any reason why they wouldn't be here. That's why you see so many guys in Memphis, so many good players. I know Phil likes to play the week before. I enjoy it. Dustin does. I think you'll see the field -- it's a great field this year, and I think it's only going to get better with being the week before.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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