Brooks Koepka: 2026 U.S. Open Press Conference

[0:16] Please welcome to the interview area two-time U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka. [0:20] Brooks, first and foremost, how does it feel to be back at Shinnecock? [0:23] Yeah, it feels good. First time I've been back since I won. [0:26] So it's a cool feeling, good memories, and excited to get it going this week. [0:32] A couple changes to the course, especially the fairways. [0:34] What have you seen this week from your practice so far? [0:37] Yeah, just played the back nine. Golf course is definitely a lot softer. [0:42] Greens are definitely slower than I remember. [0:45] I'm not saying they're slow, but it's a lot different than what I remember as far as firmness. [0:51] But then again, the wind's blowing, and I'm sure – I haven't looked at the forecast, but I don't think – is there rain? [0:57] I don't know. No rain? [0:59] So, I mean, they can do what they want with the golf course. [1:01] They can make it firm pretty easily, I feel like. [1:05] You're someone who seems to relish the toughness of the test. [1:08] What do you kind of circle – when you circle this week on the calendar, what are you sort of looking for out of the U.S. Open? [1:12] Yeah, I like a tough test. I like something that's usually around par winning. [1:15] I think this golf course is – second shot golf course, you really got to control your iron play. [1:22] Position off the tee I think is very important, especially just to kind of depends on where the pin locations are at. [1:26] And really, we play the hole backwards, I guess, is the best way to put that. [1:30] Figure out where the pin is and then try to put the iron shot – or the tee ball into a great spot for the iron play. [1:37] And I think that's how we've had success at this golf course. [1:41] But we'll see. [1:43] We're going to open up to questions straight back. [1:45] Brooks, speaking of the course and how you see it, explain to me how is it to play the 11th hole on this course in windy conditions on a Sunday with the U.S. Open on the line? [1:57] Probably would start by not hitting it over the back on the left. [2:00] That's how I would start that. [2:02] I think the green complex is so undulating, so small, it's very difficult. [2:10] If you're going to miss it, you've got to miss it right. [2:12] I think that's the first thing you've got to do. [2:18] And from there, it's just a good par three. [2:21] You've got to be precise with your distance and your accuracy. [2:26] I think it's a good, challenging hole, and you can walk away with five very easily. [2:31] We're going to go left to Bob. [2:32] Hey, Brooks, can you give us an update on your hand? [2:36] Tell us what happened and how it felt. [2:39] And did you get, I guess, go to a doctor or anything like that? [2:42] And how is it feeling now? [2:44] Yeah, it's getting better day by day. [2:47] I would say yesterday was pretty much how it was Sunday. [2:50] But today there was quite a bit of improvement. [2:53] I don't think I would have gone out and played if it wasn't. [2:55] But, yeah, I think it's just the ulnar nerve just flared up a little bit. [3:00] I don't know what I did. [3:01] I know I came back Friday, didn't go to the gym on Friday. [3:04] We came back, and it was probably about 8 o'clock. [3:07] We were watching a show, and I just kept playing with my wrist and just felt like it was very weak [3:15] and kind of the tingly feeling as if you kind of hit your funny bone. [3:18] And that's kind of how it felt, my ring finger and pinky finger. [3:22] Did you actually, like, visit a doctor or anything like that or get any treatment? [3:28] Yeah, I've got treatment from my physio, Mark Wall, and then I called Ara, and then the guy, Dr. Elitrash, [3:38] and he hooked me up with somebody out here, and we were able to get a scan on my neck because we were worried about that. [3:44] And that came back good, which is all good, and kind of just simplified it and made sure that's what it was. [3:49] I was going to go in the city yesterday and go get a nerve test. [3:52] But with that scan coming up negative, I think it's kind of obvious what it is. [3:57] We're going to front to Ann. [3:59] Brooks, overall, how close do you think are you form-wise to 2018? [4:05] I feel just as good. [4:07] I think ball striking is even better than what it's been. [4:10] And then putting. [4:12] I had a great week putting last week, so I'm excited. [4:16] Excited for the challenge. [4:17] This course will be quite difficult. [4:18] You're going to have to be creative around this place and really, really work on your angles coming in. [4:24] So I'm excited about it, and the game feels good. [4:28] Back right to Todd. [4:28] Hey, Brooks, back to your hand. [4:30] I know you hit some balls, and you said you played nine holes. [4:32] Has it affected your swing at all? [4:36] Well, yeah. [4:37] If you can't hold the club, it kind of does. [4:39] You feel like you can. [4:41] It hasn't interfered with your movement? [4:43] No, no, no. [4:44] Everything's fine. [4:44] The movement's fine. [4:45] I can do everything. [4:46] It's literally just my ring finger and pinky finger were just kind of in the transition coming down. [4:52] They would come off. [4:54] It felt like they were coming off the golf club, but they were just very weak. [4:57] And then as soon as impact would come or the turf interaction, it felt like it was fully off. [5:03] So I'm excited to be able to hold the golf club again. [5:07] Do you feel like you're 100% with your grip in your left hand now? [5:10] I don't think the grip strength is 100%, but it's good enough. [5:13] It's fine. [5:14] There's no pain. [5:15] There's absolutely no pain, which is kind of the weirdest part of this whole thing. [5:19] I'd almost prefer if there was a little bit of pain. [5:23] It would make sense of why this hurts and that does, but it doesn't. [5:26] It feels like you just hit your funny bone all the time. [5:30] We'll go straight back to Doug. [5:32] Two things, Brooks. [5:32] Do you get any sense that based on what's happened here the last two times that the USGA is going to be super cautious to make sure it doesn't happen again? [5:41] Yeah, I would say so. [5:45] That would be a best guess. [5:46] I think this golf course is challenging enough. [5:50] With the wind, and I think it's supposed to blow all week, or at least the first two days. [5:54] So I think that'll make up for, I guess, the soft greens. [5:59] I get a sense you're not a weather geek. [6:02] You don't look at weather maps. [6:04] No, I don't look at anything. [6:05] I don't look at the pin sheets. [6:06] I don't look at the wind map, the weather, anything. [6:08] You just kind of wake up that day and go. [6:09] Tea time, you look at that. [6:10] I do. [6:10] I do. [6:11] I try to be on time for that. [6:12] Secondly, there's been a number of players over the years who have been described as tough players. [6:18] What would be your definition of that? [6:20] What do you consider someone who's a tough golfer? [6:24] A guy that doesn't let the previous shot affect the next shot. [6:31] A trier. [6:33] A guy that's just got a lot of grit, doesn't give up, I think is a very tough golfer. [6:39] Then you add talent in there, and it's pretty tough to beat. [6:42] How many tough guys are there? [6:46] Tough guys. [6:52] It's doubled since it was in 2018, I'll tell you that much. [6:56] On the left, Joseph. [7:00] Brooks, I don't know if you've ever spoken on the distance issue. [7:04] Do you believe that there's a distance issue in professional golf? [7:07] Can you talk about how you've seen technology evolve throughout the course of your career? [7:13] Yeah, it definitely has evolved, but I think it's more of the athlete. [7:17] I think guys are now bigger, faster, stronger. [7:22] Yeah, technology plays a part in it, but when I was coming out, my generation maybe not, [7:29] but the generation before, it was find fairways and then figure it out from there. [7:33] And then this young generation now is to how far can you hit it and go, you just find it. [7:40] That's how I was taught when I was younger is to find the fairway. [7:46] And it wasn't always just about how far we hit it. [7:51] But you watch guys come out of college now, they're all athletes. [7:56] They're all 6'4", tall, lanky, long arms, big swing, and can create a lot of power. [8:01] So that's, I think, a huge, huge thing when you look at the golfer from the 70s, the 80s, [8:10] to the golfer that's come out over the last 10 years. [8:14] I think there's definitely a big difference in what the average guy looks like. [8:19] Would you be opposed to regulating the driver head, shrinking the forgiveness on the driver head? [8:26] Doesn't matter to me. [8:27] We all got to deal with the same thing. [8:29] So it doesn't matter. [8:30] Whatever they want to do, they can do. [8:33] Any other questions for Brooks right here on the left? [8:36] Brooks, if you could identify one thing that is the key to success around this golf course, what would it be? [8:43] I think it's tough. [9:00] I think it's very easy to say it's a second shot golf course is kind of what I think. [9:05] But when it was so firm in 18, you couldn't get above the hole. [9:09] Now that it's a little bit softer, you can kind of get above the hole. [9:12] So, I mean, ask me that on Thursday or Friday. [9:15] It might give you a better answer on that. [9:17] But, yeah, it's just conditions are so different. [9:20] So it's tough to kind of pinpoint where that is. [9:22] Thanks. [9:24] Anything else? [9:26] Brooks, we appreciate the time. [9:27] Good luck this week. [9:28] Thanks.