By Rory Carroll
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Brooks Koepka on Tuesday said he was halfway to his goal for major titles after claiming his fifth at last month’s PGA Championship and hopes to add one more at the U.S. Open in Los Angeles this week.
Koepka has put the knee issues that plagued him in recent years firmly behind him and excels on the sport’s biggest stages, finishing in a tie for second at the Masters in April before claiming his third PGA Championship.
“Double digits, that’s what I’m trying to get to,” the confident American told reporters at the Los Angeles Country Club.
“I don’t think it’s out of the question for me. The way I’ve prepared, the way I’ve suited my game for these things is going to help me.
“I’m only 33, so I’ve definitely got quite a bit of time. I’ve just got to stay healthy and keep doing what I’m doing.”
Another advantage Koepka said he has is the ability to focus on golf while many others are consumed with last week’s stunning news that the PGA Tour would partner with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
“There’s four weeks a year I really care about and this is one of them. I want to play well, so I wasn’t going to waste any time on news that happened last week,” said Koepka, who left the PGA Tour a year ago to join Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
“I saw it on TV. Watched a little bit of the interview, and that was it. Just went out and practised.”
As to whether he plans to rejoin the PGA Tour when eligible to do so next year and if he would advocate for the inclusion of LIV’s team golf concept, he declined to speculate.
“I’m not going to go into the future. I don’t have a crystal ball with me,” he said.
“I’m just worried about the U.S. Open. If I can get to number six pretty quick, that would be nice.”
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Toby Davis)
