MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 4, 2023

Brooks Koepka

Quick Quotes

Q. Congratulations again. Can you tell us about your arrival here and what went on after winning on Sunday.

BROOKS KOEPKA: Got to enjoy the moment with the family for a little bit. Little bit of media. Spent some time with the tournament committee and people from Valero.

We were able to fly out Sunday night, got here pretty late. Checked into the house, got to bed pretty quickly, had a decent sleep and just kind of laid low yesterday.

Got settled in. Nice to be out here today.

Q. Any comparison to 2019 when you won over there?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Definitely less of a whirlwind in the field already here. We had things planned. I was prepared to be coming here. That made it a little nicer.

Q. Big piece that wasn't there in 2019. What does that mean for you, having her here?

BROOKS KOEPKA: So special. Really ever since she's been born I've been imagining that moment. Yeah, both her and my wife mean so much to me. Having them both there and having her just old enough, she just started walking not long ago, to waddle out there onto the green was really, really special.

Q. Was she able to understand what happened?

BROOKS KOEPKA: She was freaked out. I saw her face. She's like, what the heck is happening here? She seemed a little scared.

But she wanted to see her dad, and it felt pretty special.

Q. How old is she? What's her name?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Her name is Reis, and she's 16 1/2 months.

Q. The three straight top tens here, you've talked about the difference between a top ten and maybe eventually winning it. Is belief a big part of that? Did any of that grow from what happened this weekend?

BROOKS KOEPKA: I think belief is definitely a big part of it. Certainly last week I had belief that I could get it done. Felt really comfortable out there on Sunday.

I'm certainly better prepared to be in contention. I learned a lot and learned I can trust myself in those situations. Obviously a different animal here at the Masters.

But I feel like, if I continue to play well, hopefully I can get myself into contention for the weekend and just keep that foot down.

Q. How can you describe your season so far?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, it's been -- its been fairly inconsistent I would say. I feel like there has bene a lot of good stuff happening, but I haven't been able to put four good rounds together. I haven't been able to piece it together each week.

I felt like, taking a lot of positives from a number of events I've played, and had some decent weeks with nothing that special really.

I've been working really hard and feeling like everything is close. It's nice that the game has finally clicked the last few weeks, and I've taken a lot of confidence in that.

Q. Do you still get stuff out of these practice rounds here at this place with Mike Weir?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, for sure. The new tee on 13, I kind of refreshed my notes. I typically go for the green in two, but might not be the case every day this week. Just talking about some layup angles. Same thing on 15. Had some added length over the last few years.

Always fun being out here with him. You can watch him hit shots around the greens. Pretty impressive.

Yeah, it was fun. Nice. I've gotten to know him a lot better the last number of years, and it's great to spend time with him.

Q. More on 13. You turned the driver over, maybe a little better or easier than a lot of guys out here. Is that going to help you out here, and do you still think that's a...

BROOKS KOEPKA: I think that's a desirable shape off that tee. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but the tee shot's become easier for me to get it in the fairway. Can't run out of room as quickly.

Yeah, I think it's a desirable shape on a lot of holes out here. Yeah, been hitting the driver quite well. I think that will be definitely a key tool in the arsenal.

Q. We've seen many pictures on the web, but can you explain how tiny the pin is out there?

BROOKS KOEPKA: My first look today was I felt like it got a little expanded. You're definitely back in the chute a little bit more, so you're hitting through a narrow opening.

But I would say the area around the tee has grown in size slightly.

Q. The tee times came out when you were playing today. You're paired with Dustin Johnson and Justin Rose for the first two rounds, and you're one of the later times on Thursday. Does that matter to you? Or just kind of go out and see what you can do?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, just go out and see what I can do. I'll be trying to have a late tee time on the weekend. So, yeah, that's something that's out of my control.

Get along pretty well with both of those guys. Obviously two impressive players. Yeah, sounds like a fun group.

Q. For sure a lot of guys congratulated you since you arrived. Is there any -- who sort of stands out? Anything that somebody said?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I received a lot of congratulatory messages. Everyone's kind of said something walking by. Yeah, feels pretty nice.

Q. Can you take us through the pairing today?

BROOKS KOEPKA: We played the front nine with Mack Hughes and Adam Svensson, and then Bryson kind of snuck off the 10th just before we got there and joined up with them.

I got a great relationship with Bryson. We're around the same age, played a lot of amateur golf against each other and played a lot in college. It was good to catch up with him.

Q. Between LIV and this tournament, do you see a difference around the golfers?

BROOKS KOEPKA: No. I think this tournament, everyone is just focusing on the task at hand. That's certainly my mentality. It was nice to say hi to some of the guys I hadn't seen in a while. Still -- wouldn't say I have a particularly close relationship with any of the players, but we were cordial.

Q. Do you think he joined you because Canadians are so nice?

BROOKS KOEPKA: I think it's just the way the timing worked out. It's as simple as that.

Q. You obviously had a game plan last week that you executed well on. You won the tournament. Game plan for this week, is it much different?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Not much different. It's trying to get the ball in the hole as quick as possible. I feel like I've built a good strategy and plan how to attack the golf course over the last few years, and I'll be focusing on most of the same stuff I have the last few years and most of the same stuff I did last week.

Last week was really demanding off the tee. You had to be precise with iron shots to give yourself chances. Different visuals out here, but those two things are both still really key. So I'll be trying to get it in play and give myself good looks.