When Brooks Koepka won the CJ Cup in 2018, he was ranked number one in the world. Signature Events were then built around players like him. On Thursday at TPC Craig Ranch, he shot an eight-under 63 in round one of the same event and then spoke about where he actually is in his career right now.

Koepka is currently ranked 111th in the world, making the cut in seven of his ten tournaments since returning to the PGA Tour from LIV Golf in January. After being competitive in nine tournaments this year, Koepka reflected on what it would feel like for him to win another CJ Cup.

"I think there's such a huge difference right now of trying to get into Signature Events, trying to — on my way back, coming back to the Tour," Koepka said. "It would be a big confidence boost for sure because I feel like I've been playing well, the results just haven't been there, mainly because of the putter."

The putter was the story of Thursday, too. But it produced good results this time. Koepka said he had felt good with it in his studio the last few days before arriving in McKinney.

His caddie, Ricky Elliott, confirmed that what he was seeing from the outside matched what Koepka felt from the inside, and that alignment built the confidence that produced the 63.

“Finally, I felt good with the putter. I felt good the last few days with it when I was working in my studio. Rick said the same thing from watching. Just happy with the way everything went today,” Koepka added.

But, everything needs to keep going for him to get closer to Signature Events.

Brooks Koepka's Path Back to Signature Events

Brooks Koepka is playing his third consecutive tournament. Due to the penalties he accepted when leaving LIV, Koepka must play whenever he's eligible to accumulate FedEx Cup points and work toward Signature Event access.

Most stars coming off the PGA Championship took last week off. But Koepka teed it up again. "Every week is a new fresh start for me," he said. "Obviously with my penalty I'm not allowed to play every event, and if I get the chance to tee up, I want to play,” he said on Wednesday.

The round signals Koepka's growing internal confidence. "I feel like I'm knocking on the door, and I'm very, very close,” he said.

The five-time major champion has been in complete control of his ball-striking for the last few weeks now. The FedEx Cup ranking is the gap which he needs to close.

A win this week would accelerate that timeline of his return to Signature Events dramatically. More importantly, it would confirm that the version of Koepka who dominated majors is still in there.

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Written by

Koushik Biswas

Edited by

Koushik Biswas