Brooks Koepka's First Round Back is in the Books—Here's How it Went

I can’t remember the last time I set an alarm to remind myself to throw on ESPN+ at 12:30 in the afternoon, but I did just that to catch Brooks Koepka’s first PGA TOUR tee shot since 2022. It’s been a long few years, but it was nice to have one of the greatest champions of his era back on my television.

And it almost started with a birdie, but his putt from just outside 10 feet at the first slid by the edge—a sign of things to come. Speaking from experience, though, a comfy four to start your day is never a bad thing.

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Throughout his stroll in San Diego, you could tell Koepka didn’t have his best stuff. The iron play was good enough to shoot a decent score, but he was living in the long rough of Torrey Pines off the tee and the putter was ice-cold. In the end, he settled for a 1-over 73 after he made his first birdie of the day at the par-5 18th.

Now, it’s not time to panic. The five-time major champion played the South Course on Thursday, far and away the more difficult of the two courses used for the first two rounds of the Farmers Insurance Open. I’d go as far as to say that anything around even on the South is a good day’s work and keeps you in the mix. Koepka will have plenty of chances to put circles on his scorecard around the North on Friday afternoon—that Scotty Cameron has to wake up, though.

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One feather he can put in his Nike cap, however, is that he beat both his playing partners on Day 1. Ludvig Aberg, winner of last year’s Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines, posted an ugly 6-over 78, while Max Homa, the 2023 winner of the Farmers, signed for a 3-over 75.

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t include the highlight of the day. Sure, it happened after Koepka’s tee shot on the 13th, but it had nothing to do with him. Nominate this person for Volunteer of the Year.

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For those of you who are interested in such things, Koepka and the boys will tee off at 1:38 p.m. ET on Friday, so don’t forget to set those alarms.