THE MODERATOR: We're here with Brooks Koepka, 2-under 68. Can you talk us through your round and especially the birdie-birdie finish. Really nice.
BROOKS KOEPKA: I thought I played pretty consistent, drove it really well. Iron play was pretty good. When I did miss it, I felt like I missed it in the correct spots. A couple of good bunker shots.
I missed one little short one on 14 maybe. Other than that, I thought I played very solid. I'm really happy with the way I finished, and hopefully it leads into tomorrow.
Q. Can you just talk to the challenge of the golf course, and did the course change at all from your practice rounds to today?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I mean, it's the U.S. Open. You know it's going to firm up. It's still not as firm as a typical U.S. Open probably is. I mean, I understand there was rain on Sunday night, so I get it, but it's still -- it's going to have some heat to it this weekend. It will be a good test.
Q. You know exactly what it takes to win this tournament. It's still very early days, I know. How do you like where you are right now? How are you feeling about your position?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I feel good. It's nice to put a good round together. It's been a while. I've been working hard, just got into some bad habits and bad swing positions. We worked pretty hard last week, Pete Cowen and Jeff Pierce were on me pretty good, and Pete got into me again on Monday, in the bunker for about 45 minutes. I just sat there, and he scolded me pretty well.
Yeah, it's just a matter of executing the feels versus perception for where I've been, I think. It's been so far off, it's on opposite sides, but now it's starting to click. Unfortunately, we're about halfway through the season, so that's not ideal, but we're learning.
Q. Pete was saying that you've been working really hard tuning up a few things in your move. I'm wondering what specifically he's talking about there? You just referred to that too; what specifically you were working on?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Just getting the club in a better spot. Yeah, like I said, my perception of where the golf club was and where it was was eight inches off, nine inches off. We spent all last week from what I got there at RTGA on Tuesday, I didn't play the golf course Tuesday or Wednesday. We just sat on the range and hit balls some long hours last week.
It's started to feel good. It's starting to click. I'm starting to see the ball flight evolve where it's a nice little fade and I don't have the two-way miss going. Very consistent now.
Q. Did you feel like you were close at Augusta and Quail Hollow? Was it just mechanical? Did you feel good physically and everything?
BROOKS KOEPKA: PGA I didn't feel good. Augusta I felt good going in. I don't really know what happened. Well, I do: The putter. I felt like I was right there, missed a -- I think I three-putted on 12 from about 12 feet and missed a 2½-, 3-footer there and kind of derailed the whole round. I had a putt on 16 to go 1-under at almost the halfway mark, and just a weird little incident on 18.
It happens. It's golf. Just got to deal with it and move on and try to play the best I can for these next two.
Q. I think in the past you said you play your best golf when you're almost kind of brain dead out there with no thoughts really going on up here other than just hitting the ball. Has that gotten easier or harder as you've gotten older? Then have you done anything different mentally in terms of training yourself for weeks like this?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I don't train myself for weeks like this. I just feel it's why you do all your prep, all your work.
What was the first part of the question?
Q. Is it tougher, easier as you get older to be almost like brain dead out there?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I don't know. I just do what I do. I think it's different. It's hard to explain to somebody else how I feel or what my thought process is out there. I mean, it's done me all right so far.
Q. Were you surprised to see 4-under leading?
BROOKS KOEPKA: No. I definitely think it was gettable. I think, if I don't miss the three-footer, I'm at 3, and maybe put the ball in the fairway off 10, probably have a chance to shoot 4. I think I played pretty solid. So, yeah, I definitely can see 4. Listen, that's a helluva round; 4-under in a U.S. Open is pretty good.
Q. When you see scores like that at a U.S. Open where it's harder to get birdies, does that change your mindset? Or how do you have it not change your mindset when that thought gets in?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I'm more focused on what I'm doing, more focused on how to just keep plugging away and get through some holes, get through tough holes and try to take advantage of the easy ones.
Q. From the days when you would show up to a week like this feeling like the favorite compared to a week like this now, can you compare and contrast that? Do you show up feeling differently? How much differently maybe?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Don't feel any different. I still feel the same, still the same person. Just mechanics were off, simplest put. I did that for about a year.
So getting on the right track, and I guess if you look side by side with what it was, maybe in '13, it probably looks a helluva lot similar.
Q. Everyone always points back to the comment at Bethpage: Five, ten players, whatever, can win this week. Do you still think of yourself that way, or has it changed at all?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I mean, I don't talk about it, you guys talk about it.
Q. It was your quote, though.
BROOKS KOEPKA: It was. I said it once, and now everybody repeats it.
Q. I don't think you've ever missed two straight cuts in majors in your career. Just wondering if you could put in perspective maybe how frustrated you were. You've obviously touched on the reasons why you were, but just the frustration of that. Obviously these are your big tournaments, and you've been up there so many times. Just where you were after just a month ago.
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I would say from the first weekend in April until about last week, you didn't want to be around me. It drove me nuts. It ate at me. I haven't been happy. It's been very irritating. It's a lot -- I mean, I had to apologize -- I've apologized to Rick, Pete, Jeff, Blake, my wife, my son, everybody. I wouldn't have wanted to be around me.
Q. Were you just struggling (indiscernible) also seeing frustrations?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, of course. I wasn't consistent enough. When I felt like I cut one, it was drawing. I felt like I blocked one, it would go straight. I just had no sense of reality of where things were. My perception, like I said, was so far off.
I haven't seen it on video today, but I would probably look that my swing looks quite similar to how it did in '13 or years past. It's definitely trending in that direction.
Q. Can you give me a clean snippet of what that scolding from Pete sounded like?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I'll put it this way: JT thought he had to come check on me in the bunker. We were in there for about 45 minutes, and he was on the other side of the green. I saw him Monday night. We were at a Rolex function. He was like, I was worried; your head was down.
Yeah, Pete, I'll keep that between us. I wasn't happy with it, but it was something I think you need to hear or I needed to hear at the right time. It's not the first time he's done it. He's not afraid to. I don't like --
Q. When was the last one?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Erin Hills.
Q. Oh, that long ago?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah. I don't like having "yes" people around me. I just want somebody to tell me the truth, tell me what's going on, what they see. If I start swaying from being Brooks Koepka, then I want someone to call me out on it, and he did a helluva job on it.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports