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THE HONDA CLASSIC

February 28, 2019

Brooks Koepka

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Q. Pretty solid day. Were you pleased?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I played okay. I thought I putted a lot better. That's what I've been trying to work on. Obviously it's a lot better being on Bermuda greens, feeling a little more comfortable. But I just made two bad swings there in a row. One of them was obviously a lot worse than the other. The 9-iron I hit on 15 I didn't think was too bad, but that hole is -- if you hit it in the water there, you're going to make bogey at least. I felt like I played pretty solid.

Q. The Bear Trap got you there. Talk about this event, though. A year ago you have a bad wrist, you can't play. Now you're back at your hometown event. This has got to be really special.
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, it's always nice to play your home event. It's a little bit more of a chaotic week. It's not always the easiest week to play, but I enjoy it. My family doesn't get to come out too often, friends don't get to come out too often, so it's nice to play in front of the hometown.

Q. Since you last played here, you've had a pretty good run. It's pretty amazing how things have turned around for you in a short period of time.
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, obviously winning three majors is pretty nice. But you've just got to capitalize on that, build some confidence. I like the way this golf course is set up, the way they've redone the greens. I really like them, and looking forward to the rest of the week.

Q. When you were at Cardinal Newman High School, did you play many rounds here, many tournaments here?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I mean, junior golf we had a bunch of tournaments out here. I think I played all three of them. I played a few times. I probably played the Hag (ph) more than anything. But I love this golf course. I feel comfortable on it. I know where to hit it, and you've just got to execute there.

Q. How would you sum up your day?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I thought I played fine. I made one bad swing there on 14. 15 I hit a good shot, just kind of climbed in the wind, and that happens. But these par-3s you can't miss the greens. You're going to be in trouble there, especially being in the water, you know you're going to make double.

Q. Did the wind pick up at certain holes? It seemed calm but then at times it seemed windy.
BROOKS KOEPKA: It was fine. I thought it was blowing a steady 5 to 10 yards, maybe a club, nothing more. Every once in a while it would pop up, but I didn't think it was too bad. It was kind of nice, refreshing to have a little bit of breeze. I didn't see any problem with it on the iron play. The greens were great today. It was nice being able to get out in the morning.

Q. Could you see a big difference in having the greens redone; what has that done for --
BROOKS KOEPKA: Big difference. Big difference. It's nice to finally be on Bermuda, number one, and number two, these greens, they're firm, but they're not overly firm. They've cut the rough because the greens are so firm, which is nice. I think if we had this rough up to what it normally is, four inches, it would be very difficult. I think even par would be a great score.

Q. You said yesterday that your history isn't great here. What are you trying to figure out about playing this place?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I've just had a lot of things off the golf course go wrong during this week. I didn't play last year. Two years ago, I was ready to walk off. I didn't even want to play. I wasn't in a space to play. I shouldn't have probably played golf for about two months.

You know, that, and I wasn't the player I was -- the first time I got a sponsor invite. Yeah, I mean, other than that, everything is fine.

Q. What was going on a couple years ago? Can you talk about it?
BROOKS KOEPKA: No, I'm not going to.

Q. You see a guy like Jhonattan playing well, as well. Do you guys kind of work off each other in an opening round like this; as you see him succeed, you follow suit and vice versa?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, it was nice. Any time you've got a guy playing well you kind of feed off it and kind of watch some putts go in, and it kind of feels like the hole is starting to open up. It was good to see him play well. It was nice to see some putts drop myself and kind of feed off that a little bit. But I'm not too concerned with what anyone else is doing.

Q. What was the shot that turned your game around?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Today No. 11 was probably -- the second shot in. It's a difficult hole. You've got to be -- it started in the morning, too, the ball wasn't flying very far. With the wind being off the right and kind of into, it felt like I could have hit -- if it was the afternoon, I would have hit that club over the green. To hit it that close and make the putt was kind of momentum building for the rest of the round.

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