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PALM BEACH GARDENS — After hanging around even par for most of his first round, Brooks Koepka stumbled on three of his last six holes, including the 16th and 17th, to put the hometown favorite in danger of missing the cut at the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches.
Koepka, who grew up in West Palm Beach and now lives in Jupiter, shot a 3-over 74 and was tied for 100th when he finished. He declined to talk to the media after the round.
Followed around the Champion Course at PGA National by the opening day’s biggest gallery, Koepka was 1 under through 12 holes. He dropped to even when he three-putted the par-4 13th from 28 feet for bogey, his 5-foot par attempt curving away inches in front of the cup.
At the par-4 16th, the middle hole of the infamous Bear Trap, Koepka’s approach finished just short of the green, 61 feet from the pin. His putt from there stopped five feet right of the cup and his par putt spun out of the hole to drop him to 1 over.
A bad chip cost Koepka at the par-3 17th, which was the most difficult hole of the day with an average score of 3.36. His tee shot on the 188-yard hole hung on the left side of the green, then rolled down into a collection area. Koepka thinned his chip across the green and just into the watery muck.
He removed his right shoe and sock, rolled up his pants leg, stepped into the water and hit the ball into the rough short of the green. From there he chipped to 5½ feet and sank the putt for a double-bogey 5.
At the par-5 18th, which was the third-easiest hole with an average score of 4.77, Koepka hit his third shot from 83 yards to 22 feet and rolled his birdie putt just right of the hole.
Brooks Koepka's putter continues to fail him
That typified Koepka’s day. He had been struggling with the putter in his previous two PGA Tour events since leaving LIV Golf and that continued Thursday. He had four birdie attempts of 9 to 11 feet on the first four holes and missed them all by a whisker.
He didn’t make a birdie until the sixth hole, when he sank a 36-footer. That put him at even after he failed to get up and down from a greenside bunker on the fifth hole.
Koepka played with Daniel Berger, who grew up and lives in Jupiter and played for Florida State University with Koepka.
“I like playing with Brooks,” said Berger, who was tied for third at 4 under. “I’m happy he’s back. He shot 3 over, so I don’t think he played his best. He obviously had a difficult time on 17.
“One thing I know is he can turn it around in an instant, so I expect him to come out tomorrow and play well.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Could Brooks Koepka miss the cut in his return to Cognizant Classic?