We are just a few weeks away from the PGA Championship, which is becoming the underlying narrative for every swing on the PGA Tour.
Two Signature Events remain before the second major of the season, and Brooks Koepka is unlikely to be playing in either of them.
Koepka agreed that he would receive no sponsor exemptions for Signature Events this season when he agreed a deal with the PGA Tour for his return. So after he missed the cut alongside Shane Lowry at the Zurich Classic, he is not in the field for this week’s Cadillac Championship.
But the five-time major winner is golf’s big game player, and has a unique ability to ramp up his performances at the biggest events of the year. That has been the case at the PGA Championship, especially since Koepka has won it three times and lifted the Wannamaker Trophy.
And according to analyst Brendon de Jonge, Koepka does something particularly well which makes him a threat to win at Aronimink this year.
Aronimink is defended by its undulating greens, which require a hot putter to navigate. That’s been an issue for Koepka this season. But the course also rewards the ability to hit the right part of the greens, which the American does incredibly well.
He ranks in the top 10 on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Approach this year, and that will hold him in good stead at the PGA Championship, according to de Jonge.
Speaking on 5 Clubs, he was asked if Koepka can win, and he replied, “Yeah, I think you’d be foolish to say no. I think you’d be foolish. He talked about his affinity for this championship. It’s a golf course that’s really going to suit his game as well.
“It’s a big ballpark. It’s going to be a big reliance on the iron game. I think Koepka’s going to be a big factor.”
No matter his form throughout the year, you’d be a brave person to bet against Koepka in any major, let alone one that suits his game well. So don’t be surprised to see him tie Rory McIlroy with his sixth major win.
McIlroy is yet to play since winning his second Green Jacket at The Masters. He skipped the RBC Heritage and is skipping the Cadillac Championship, and is set to make his PGA Tour return at The Truist Championship at Quail Hollow.
That does not give the six-time major winner much time to build into form, but he might not need it. He didn’t play on the PGA Tour for three weeks before The Masters and won it anyway.
With that in mind, de Jonge isn’t worried about the Northern Irishman’s preparation: “I didn’t like his preparation into Augusta. Could not have been more wrong. So you ask me this now, absolutely no worry at all as far as Rory. I think listening to the way he prepared for Augusta and the Masters there, it sounded absolutely brilliant.
“I thought he needed more competitive reps. That wasn’t the case at all. I think he’s going to be just fine with that one start and I think he’s probably going to end up in contention at Truist as well.”
The Truist, played at Quail Hollow, is a place where McIlroy has always performed well. He’s won four times at the golf course during his storied career, so expect him to be in the mix as he builds into major form.