Brooks Koepka opens strong at PGA Championship after admitting 'family issues' took a toll last year

Brooks Koepka has gotten disconnected to a bully commencement astatine the PGA Championship, and each made chopped has resulted successful a top-20 decorativeness this season.

The five-time large victor returned to the PGA Tour this play aft spending 4 years with LIV Golf and was 1 of 33 players to interruption 70 successful the archetypal circular connected Thursday astatine Aronimink Golf Club extracurricular of Philadelphia.

Last twelvemonth was a conflict for Koepka connected the course, arsenic helium missed the chopped successful 3 of the 4 majors and finished 31st successful the idiosyncratic LIV standings.

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Brooks Koepka reacts aft his putt connected the 14th greenish during the archetypal circular of the PGA Championship astatine Aronimink Golf Club successful Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, connected May 14, 2026. (James Lang/Imagn Images)

But it was a conflict disconnected the people arsenic well, particularly with his wife, Jena Sims, suffering a miscarriage astatine 16 weeks pregnant.

Speaking aft his archetypal circular Thursday, Koepka admitted that "a batch of household issues" past twelvemonth "took a toll" connected him and affected his play.

"That was benignant of pugnacious to woody with," Koepka said, via the New York Post.

But location is "in a overmuch amended place," which coincides with his awesome scores successful the aboriginal going.

"It’s easier to travel retired to enactment erstwhile everything astatine location lines up. Everything’s a batch better. Last twelvemonth was conscionable hard personally with what was going connected disconnected the play course, thing to bash connected it. It was conscionable off," Koepka continued.

Brooks Koepka plays his changeable connected the tenth spread during the archetypal circular of the PGA Championship astatine Aronimink Golf Club successful Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, connected May 14, 2026. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)

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"So, yeah, conscionable being successful a amended place. It’s exciting. It’s a small spot of a caller commencement arsenic well. I deliberation that’s a large portion of it. Yeah, erstwhile each that benignant of lines up, it makes it enjoyable to beryllium retired here."

"It’s been a agelong clip since I’ve had amusive playing golf. I was precise frustrated past year. Just wasn’t successful a bully place, but I deliberation a batch of times erstwhile you — it’s similar anybody, right? If they’re blessed disconnected the play course, they’re going to play good connected the play course. I deliberation that’s a huge, immense portion of it, and I’ve recovered that," Koepka told Golf.com past week.

"Refound my happiness, my emotion for the game. All the pieces are connected. It’s conscionable present I’ve got to spell retired and spell play."

Koepka is presently aiming for his 4th PGA Championship victory, having besides won successful 2018, 2019 and 2023. He would articulation Walter Hagen, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods arsenic the lone four-time winners of the event.

Brooks Koepka walks connected the 18th greenish during the archetypal circular of the PGA Championship astatine Aronimink Golf Club successful Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, connected May 14, 2026. (Ben Jared/PGA Tour)

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Koepka struggled successful his aboriginal instrumentality to the PGA Tour, finishing T55 astatine the Farmers Insurance Open and missing the chopped astatine the Waste Management Open. But since then, contempt 2 different missed cuts, his finishes person ranged from T9 to T18.

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