Brooks Koepka’s opening of the 90th edition of the Masters was solid by major championship standards. However, what makes things impressive is that he got through a major chunk of it on the wrong equipment setting. And while he claimed no one noticed, a few eagle-eyed observers would like to disagree. As it turns out, this mix-up has been tagging along for months.

During an interview after shooting a 69 in the second round, Koepka acknowledged the difference between rounds one and two. “Yeah, just drove it better. Somehow, my setting on the driver switched from A1 to B1. No one noticed it. So, switching it back to A1, which is what we’ve usually had. It’s just driving it better,” he said. 

Koepka missed six of his first seven fairways before the realization dawned upon him. Something was clearly wrong, which he later figured was because of an unexpected tweak in the adapter setting on his Titleist GT3 driver.

Heading back to the range before sunset, the golfer noticed his driver’s SureFit hosel had changed from its usual A1 position to B1, which sits about 0.75 degrees flatter than the standard A1, encouraging a fade bias.

The difference between the two settings is less than a degree; however, it is not exactly ideal for a right-hander tackling Augusta National. Thankfully, under USGA rules, players can opt for equipment adjustments between rounds, giving Koepka the chance to find six more fairways.

In the second round, he carded six birdies with just three bogeys to finish three under. The impact showed in the numbers, too. Per DataGolf, after losing over four-tenths of a stroke off the tee on Thursday, he gained nearly nine-tenths on Friday. By the end of it, he had tied for 13th. 

Well, this detail matters because Brooks Koepka hasn’t been his regular self since he returned to the PGA Tour through the returning member program. In 2021, his last full PGA season, he ranked 7th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, gaining +0.631 strokes on the field. And from 2014 (his debut season) to 2021, he never fell outside the top 28 in that category. This season, however, he’s gaining just +0.111 strokes off the tee, which places him 76th. 

Now, per pictures by GOLF and other outlets, his driver might have been set on the B1 settings the entire time, which explains several things. At the Valspar Championship, Koepka did say he had made an adjustment, but didn’t specify any details. Meanwhile, per Inside Tour Golf, he has been using the B1 setup as far back as July.

Perhaps, he will return to the Masters field today with renewed confidence.

“I feel like I’m striking it exactly the way I wanted to. Obviously driver, we clicked that into the right settings so I know where the misses are. Everything is solid. Just the putter. I don’t know, I’ve been caught out—sometimes I feel like if I just would hit a few putts a little bit harder they would have been in and I could have really shot 5-, 6-under today,” Koepka added. 

“Ball striking has been really good this week. Putted better today. Short game has been kind of iffy. But, yeah, I like the way I’m playing right now. Just need to be a little bit more aggressive.”

That said, Koepka’s response hasn’t been limited to his play. He has also responded to Tom Watson, who recently slammed the PGA Tour’s decision to reinstate him following his move to LIV Golf.

Brooks Koepka responds to Watson, taking the high road

Koepka was aware right from the beginning that his return would bring about controversial stances. So, it was not a shock for him when Hall of Fame player Tom Watson said that he would require players seeking redemption to play a year on the Korn Ferry Tour.

“Everybody is entitled to their own opinion,” Koepka said after his best Masters round (69) in three years. “That’s fine if he thinks that. He’s not the first person that’s thought that. So yeah, it is what it is. I’m just grateful to be out here.”

There had never been an outright lifelong ban imposed upon any player moving to the LIV circuit, but tensions would still make it hard to see how anyone could return immediately. However, there were certain stipulations to Koepka’s reinstatement. He will now miss the Player Equity Program for the next five years, not receive any bonuses from the FedEx Cup in the year 2026, and has promised to give away $5 million to charity.

Ultimately, all Koepka did was accept his fate while grabbing at an opportunity. He will now be solely focusing on capitalizing on the latter as much as possible. And with the driver under control, expect him to make a weekend charge at the lead.

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