LIV GOLF INVITATIONAL SERIES: JEDDAH

October 15, 2022

Brooks Koepka

Peter Uihlein

Royal Greens Golf & Country Club

Press Conference

Q. Curious, you guys have known each other for a long time; have you ever played in a final group in a final round together?

PETER UIHLEIN: I don't think we've played together in a tournament, have we? I don't think so.

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I don't think so. I can think all the way back to Challenge Tour days, and I don't remember anything. There's been times where Slammer was caddying, you were a group in front.

PETER UIHLEIN: "Back Pin Brooks." He kept hitting it over the green back in the day.

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I don't think we've played together. You play with a teammate, it's always fun, and then competing for the team thing and the individual thing, I think it'll be exciting. I haven't been in this position, so it's exciting. Got the juices flowing, and it's always good.

Q. Can you guys both kind of go back to the days when you were rooming together? I think it was in Jupiter. What was that like? How much fun did you have? What do you think of each other as roommates?

PETER UIHLEIN: Yeah, we were just starting our careers, so it was kind of fun. We were just trying to get our feet wet. We were over there playing on the Challenge Tour and the European Tour and just kind of starting out. The way our schedules worked out, we were home together a lot and we were on the road together. It was just fun. We were a lot younger, different part of our lives. We just had a good time. It was fun.

BROOKS KOEPKA: I mean, I enjoyed it. I still think it's probably the most fun I've had playing golf was 2012 to probably 2014 playing in Europe. It was the most fun. Got to travel the world, and to get to do it for a living, I think it's pretty cool.

Q. Brooks, I think you turned pro about six months later than Peter. Were you influenced by what he did to start his career?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, he definitely played a part in it. It was either go out and try to Monday and see how Q-school -- tried Q-school later that year, but the only option was to go play Challenge Tour for me. I wasn't a big name. I wasn't going to get any starts. It was the only option I had if I wanted to get out and be one of the best players in the world. I thought that was the best way to do it, and watching him do it made it easier and knowing somebody that was over there. You won, I think Scott Pinckney --

PETER UIHLEIN: Ben An, too.

BROOKS KOEPKA: There were a bunch of guys we grew up playing golf with. So it was comfortable. It made it a lot easier.

Q. Peter, I think you started out with four straight birdies. Can you just talk about your round? Both you guys seemed to find trouble at 13.

PETER UIHLEIN: Yeah, I fatted it in the water.

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I watched that.

PETER UIHLEIN: I hit the big ball first. No, I started hot. I made a nice putt on 2, hit it close on 3, good putt on 4 and had a good shot on 5. It was just a nice solid start. I hit a good one on 6 and horribly missed the putt. Yeah, it was a good start. Obviously it was a dream start really. Yeah, just kind of held on from there and finished with a flurry, so it was nice.

BROOKS KOEPKA: I thought I played pretty solid. I thought the green speeds were, I don't know, maybe a foot and a half faster than what they were yesterday, so I had a little trouble adjusting. Having to do that mid-round, I firmed a few and then didn't get a few to the hole, so somewhere in between those would be nice.

Q. Peter, could you talk us through your finish, especially the eagle? And how do you feel it sets you up for tomorrow?

PETER UIHLEIN: Yeah, I hit a good drive on 18. Back nine I drove it quite well other than one hole. I was on the wrong hole. Yeah, that was left. That was an accident.

BROOKS KOEPKA: I thought it was on purpose.

PETER UIHLEIN: No, it wasn't. I didn't miss a fairway other than that. Well, maybe on 17.

But no, 18, hit a good drive. Had a perfect number. I was trying to hit one less. Zach, my caddie, talked me into the right club, and just hit a good shot, made a good swing, and rolled up nicely and made a nice eagle.

Then yeah, just two good shots on 1 to finish and made a nice putt for a birdie, so it was good.

Q. (Inaudible.)

PETER UIHLEIN: Yeah, this will be the third time I'm in the final group in these, in LIV events, so just trying to keep getting comfortable, get putting myself in this situation to have a chance to win. Obviously I've got a world class player over here, one of the best out here chasing me down, so it should be fun. Yeah, that's the stuff you want. It's the stuff you play for, so I'm excited.

Q. You guys have a lot of shared history overseas, different tours, PGA TOUR and now you're here. There's a lot of positivity around that, a lot of great things. What is the one thing -- what's your favorite thing about playing on the LIV Tour?

BROOKS KOEPKA: For me, I think the team thing. I think it's really cool. Chicago I was out of it individually, but my juices got flowing for the first time -- well, it's the first time I've been competitive in a long time, but it was nice to be able to play for something.

I think that probably only helped last week and this week. It's been a long time since I've played good. But to be able to -- when you're not playing well, you've still got to fight for the team and be competitive. It's one of those things where you have a bad day, you've still got two more and try to help the team and do what you can. That's important.

PETER UIHLEIN: Yeah, it's the team. I loved college golf, and felt like I played really well in college, and just that atmosphere and the camaraderie being with the team and being with friends and practicing together and all that stuff, I enjoy that. I prefer that over kind of the lone Wolf mentality that is the PGA TOUR.

So being a part of something different and special and unique, it was just a great opportunity for me. It's the happiest I've been playing golf in a long time.

Yeah, I'm fortunate enough to be a part of it.

BROOKS KOEPKA: It's different, too. I've found myself staring at the leaderboard, seeing how these guys are doing more than anything. I'm a leaderboard watcher. I always look at it, see what's going on, but I'm always trying to figure out what Pete is doing, what Jay is doing and my brother. It makes it fun and entertaining when you're out there and you've got someone to root for.

Q. I bet it feels nice to see smash golf course up there.

BROOKS KOEPKA: It would be nice to be one, two, three, four, but I'll take it.

Q. You guys have led day one and day two; are we going to see the hat trick tomorrow?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Hopefully. I think it'll be nice being able to play with a teammate, seeing how he's doing. You get an idea, get a feel for it. Really hopefully we're both playing well, so we can go out and go fire a good round tomorrow, I think it'll be important and kind of feed off each other. I'm excited for it. I really am. I haven't been this excited in a long time.

PETER UIHLEIN: Yeah, I think winning for the team is pretty important because I don't know if we can quite get into that fourth spot --

BROOKS KOEPKA: Can't.

PETER UIHLEIN: Can't get into the fourth spot for Miami, but getting into the fifth spot, at least that puts a lot of power in our position that we can kind of choose who we want to play. I think getting a win tomorrow as a team is important because then we're allowed to -- we get our first choice, which is I think pretty important in that first round.

I think we've got a lot to play for as a team, so it's good.