A closer look at Brooks Koepka's 63
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FARMINGDALE, NEW YORK - MAY 16: Brooks Koepka of the United States plays his shot from the 17th tee during the first round of the 2019 PGA Championship at the Bethpage Black course on May 16, 2019 in Farmingdale, New York. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
Brooks Koepka comments after Round 1 of the PGA Championship
Brooks Koepka dominated the day at the PGA Championship with his 7-under 63 at Bethpage Black. Koepka also shot 63 in last year’s PGA, which was his third win in his past seven majors. Here’s a closer look at Koepka’s incredible round that was the talk of the town Thursday at Bethpage Black.
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STATISTICS
Driving distance: 296.4 (49th)
Fairways hit: 9 of 14 (T36)
Greens hit: 14 of 18 (T7)
Putts: 25
STROKES GAINED
Off-the-Tee: +1.43 (16th)
Approach: +4.88 (2nd)
Around-the-Green: +0.51 (47th)
Putting: +3.64 (2nd)
Total: +10.06 (1st)
Koepka joined a small club by shooting his second 63 in a major championship:
- This was the 37th round of 63 or lower in a major. Branden Grace (2017 Open) is the only player to fire 62 in a major.
- Koepka is the third player to shoot multiple 63s in majors, joining Greg Norman and Vijay Singh. Koepka is the first player to shoot two 63s in the same major, and the first to do so in consecutive years.
- Eight players have won after shooting 63 in a major. Koepka is the most recent. He shot a second-round 63 in his win at last year’s PGA.
- This is the ninth first-round 63 in a major. Only two of the previous eight players went on to win (Raymond Floyd, 1982 PGA; Jack Nicklaus, 1980 U.S. Open).
- Koepka’s round is the lowest in a major at Bethpage Black. The previous record was 64, set by Lucas Glover and Mike Weir in the 2009 U.S. Open.
This also continues his impressive play in majors over the past five years:
- This is Koepka’s 10th consecutive under-par round in a major.
- Six of Koepka’s last eight opening rounds in a major have been in the 60s.
- This is the second consecutive major that Koepka started with a bogey-free round. He shot 66 en route to a T2 finish at the Masters.
- Entering this week, Koepka was 45 under in his last eight majors, nine shots better than second-place Rickie Fowler and 15 shots ahead of third-place Jordan Spieth.
- Koepka had a 70.1 scoring average in majors since the 2014 U.S. Open, the lowest in that span (minimum 40 rounds played).
- Koepka’s 14 top-20s in majors since the 2014 U.S. Open are the most on TOUR, one ahead of Jason Day.
- Koepka is one of four players in the last 30 years to win three majors before the age of 30. The others are Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth.
Sean Martin manages PGATOUR.COM’s staff of writers as the Lead, Editorial. He covered all levels of competitive golf at Golfweek Magazine for seven years, including tournaments on four continents, before coming to the PGA TOUR in 2013. Follow Sean Martin on Twitter.