This time a year ago Brooks Koepka missed the cut, walked out to the parking lot at Augusta National and had a violent row with his own car. From a chirpier place he shared the tale on Friday afternoon.
Today, he plays on the LIV tour. Today, his head and body are in a far better state. Today, one of the fallen stars of the sport has pulled clear at the top of the leaderboard at the Masters, and is fast making a reality of the worst-nightmare scenario for the staunchest traditionalists in golf’s civil war.
‘I shouldn’t be saying this, but I tried to break the back window,’ he told us. ‘Not once but twice. First time didn’t go, so figured I’d try it again.’ Turns out he couldn’t break 75 with his clubs and he couldn’t break glass with his fists. But it would seem that rather a lot can change in 12 months.
It will be lost on no-one that on a day when we saw the startling plummet of LIV’s greatest critic, Rory McIlroy, we also witnessed the latest stage in the Koepka resurrection. His 67, added to an opening 65, was excellent. Not a bogey to be seen.
When he wobbled with loose approaches on the front nine, he bailed himself out with a series of clutch putts. When he had chances to make advances, he took them with five strokes gained on the four par fives.
In all areas of his game, he was solid, and as we once saw so often, when Koepka is confident, he is more dangerous than just about anyone. He will take an awful lot of catching, especially after storms hit later in the day and made the workload more intense for some of the key names in pursuit.
Of those who completed their second rounds, only the brilliant American amateur Sam Bennett got anywhere near Koepka’s 12 under total, and even then he was four back following another 68.
He had been co-leader overnight on seven under with Koepka and Viktor Hovland, but while the Norwegian dropped a shot through 10 holes in the tougher afternoon conditions, Rahm had just started to motor when play was halted a little after 4pm locally.
Collin Morikawa was a couple further adrift after a second 69, while Jason Day collapsed to five over after dropping four strokes in the final four holes of a 72. Still on the course when the hooters sounded, the greatest threat was Jon Rahm, naturally enough.
With birdies at eight and the ninth, the Spaniard was nine under at the turn, but making up three strokes on the back? In bad weather and with 27 holes to play on Saturday? Advantage Koepka. And with it, our minds can begin to drift to the prospect of a LIV winner.
We can debate how savoury that may or may not be, but it is beyond dispute how valuable a win would be for the breakaway tour when their relevance and impact is severely on the slide.
Doubtless there will be television executives thrilled by the madness of it all. And equally predictable, there would be a significant amount of tittering if the LIV bunch, all 18 of them, are true to their word and storm the 18th green if one of their number is victorious.
Increasingly that victory seems possible, though it was somewhat ironic that in the glow of a good day the 32-year-old spoke in terms which played to the idea of LIV as a lucrative harbour for the faded.
That is because of a response he gave to the question of whether his decision to defect would have been harder had his game been in the place it is now. ‘Probably, if I’m being completely honest,’ he said. ‘I think it would have been. But I’m happy with the decision I made.’
The latter part goes against the strong whispers that he has privately expressed his buyer’s remorse, which is likely rooted in the realisation he can still compete at the top level.
To watch him on the Full Swing series, where he had the ring of a lost soul, was to see a man who possibly felt he was busted flush, having previously seemed so invincible in winning four majors between 2017 and 2019. To observe his play at Augusta, on the back of winning a LIV event last weekend, is to see a different person entirely.‘I’ve come a long way,’ he said.
Koepka’s card gave him reason to be pleased. The highlight was an eagle at the par-five eighth, but perhaps his best work was done with five holed putts in the crucial six-foot range in the opening six holes. After riding out that stretch, he saw off the front nine in 33 and picked up another two strokes on the way in.
If there is a sticky note to the Koepka tale it involves the whiff of a potential rule violation in the first round on Thursday, when he and his caddie, Ricky Elliott, were accused by some television viewers of giving club advice to his playing partner Gary Woodland on the 15th hole.
Tournament officials ruled in Koepka’s favour after consulting footage, but the incident, which would have contravened rules on the giving and receiving of on-course advice, has raised eyebrows. If it has affected Koepka, then it is in no way obvious.
The suspension of play meant the formality of a missed cut was not immediately ratified, but with the projected number at two over, McIlroy was a mile away from where he needed to be. He was good deal further adrift of the rebel with a controversial tour and a new cause.
‘I feel like all the greats have won here and they have all won British Opens as well. It’s one more box for me to tick to truly feel like I’ve done what I should have accomplished in this game.’ Of course, mention of the grand slam brings McIlroy to mind. This was flagged as his year and what a mess it has become, with the Northern Ireland done in 77 for five over.
