Brooks Koepka has admitted that the greens at Shinnecock Hills were very different to what he remembered as he opened up with a three over par round of 73 on Thursday at the US Open.
Koepka was one of the most intriguing players heading into the third major of the year. He won the US Open the last time it was played at Shinnecock Hills.
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He has also shown glimpses of good form on the PGA Tour. Koepka was in the mix going into the weekend at the RBC Canadian Open last week.
However, Koepka ended up withdrawing from the event due to a hand injury. So there was a question mark over how he would fare at what always looked likely to be the toughest test of the year.
Brooks Koepka surprised by Shinnecock Hills
The early signs suggest that Koepka is going to be in the mix. While he is three over par, he was only a handful of shots off the lead as the afternoon groups got going.
The wind was brutal at times. And speaking after his round, he explained what it was like to try and tackle Shinnecock Hills on Thursday.
“Yeah, the conditions were tough. It’s just weird how soft the greens are. It’s just odd. It’s not what I remember,” he said.
“I mean, I understand why they’re soft, I get that. It’s not complaining. It’s just a difficult day.”
Keegan Bradley agrees with Brooks Koepka after his first round at the US Open
Someone who would agree with Koepka’s assessment was Keegan Bradley. The 2025 US Ryder Cup captain was just outside the top 10 as his opening round concluded as he posted a level par 70.
And it seems that, like Koepka, Bradley was very pleased that the putting surfaces were not as firm as he had been preparing for.
“Yeah, the greens were softer than I expected, but thank goodness they were. There was a few times where my ball was, like, wiggling, like oscillating a little bit. They did what they had to do to play today. They did a great job. They should be commended for that,” he said.
“It’s often where we’ve had instances where it’s gone the other way, and they did a good job of that today.”
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Shinnecock Hills is going to be a brutal test!
There is always a danger when the conditions are so difficult that a number of players are going to complain about how unfair the set-up is.
But Bradley was full of praise for the USGA after his round.
“Yeah, it was tough around here without wind, and then it was blowing pretty hard, really hard. Tough conditions. The USGA did a great job setting the course up because, if the greens were any faster or firmer, we might not be playing right now. So they did a great job,” he said.
It is certainly threatening to be an amazing week at Shinnecock Hills. The first few hours of play have definitely whetted the appetite for what is to come.
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