Desperate Brooks Koepka Urgently Needs a Win in Singapore Ahead of Bid for 6th Major; Here’s Why

Brooks Koepka doesn’t look or sound too worried too often. But in Singapore, Koepka isn’t hiding his concern. There are only two weeks left for the second major of the year, and the reigning champion has a lot to fix. Last year, the five-time major winner came close to winning twice before settling for the PGA Championship. So once again, Brooks Koepka heads to Valhalla with hopes of defending his third Wanamaker trophy. 

But, if anything, this year is markedly different. Last summer, the nine-time PGA Tour winner was second at the Masters after blowing off the 56-hole lead. Koepka was unfazed. A month later, he snatched the Wanamaker Trophy for the third time in five years. Koepka’s major hunting might seem like a given, but his recent form sparks concern. Even the man himself hopes “something will turn around.”

Koepka is far from his best form

T11,3,T5. This was Brooks Koepka’s form between his T2 at the Masters and the PGA Championship last year. Before the Masters, the 33-year-old also walked up to LIV Orlando’s victory. A year later, there is a study in contrast. 

Barring the T5 in Mayakoba in February, the Jupiter resident has yet to come close to the winning circle. In Adelaide, a T9 is the only outlier among a couple of T12s, a few T45s, and a solo 28. Far from his usual best, the five-time Major champion is 16th in LIV Golf’s season-long standings, the second-best player in his team after Talor Gooch at 10.

The Samsh GC captain was also struggling in the first major of the season. Koepka has two runner-ups in addition to a solo seventh at the Masters. This year, the LIV Golf Pro was stopped at 45, his worst finish after making the cut. Koepka’s SG: Total was in the negative (-0.43). He feels vexed. His putts only burn the sides before lipping out. It has started to wear him down, Koepka revealed in a recent media interaction.

Data Golf ranks him at 63rd behind Matthieu Pavon, Eric Cole, Tom Kim, and others. Koepka needs to book a top spot on the LIV Golf Singapore leaderboard. Not only does he need to secure favorable odds, but he also needs to boost his self-confidence prior to the second major. Otherwise, if the five-time major winner looks to increase his tally, he would need to pull off the heroics of 2018–19.

Brooks Koepka can’t be ruled out for one reason

In 2017-18, Major Brooks won only twice, and both were majors. Following a solo second at the Fort Worth Invitational, Brooks finished T30 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. In between the US Open and the PGA Championship, the former world no. 1 had one missed cut and was outside the top 15 in all but one. 

The story was the same as a year prior to that too. The season saw only one victory, which happened at the US Open. The LIV golfer was also on the verge of three-peating at the US Open in 2019, the year he defended his PGA Championship title. Brooks Koepka has 17 top-10s across all four majors. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are the only current golfers with more majors than the 33-year-old. And the latter only leads him by one.