Brooks Koepka, the five-time major champion, shot a 5-under 66 in the second round of the Cognizant Classic to make the weekend cut after an opening 74. The Palm Beach County native adjusted his putting stroke following poor greens performance on Thursday, gaining nearly four strokes with the putter on Friday. Koepka enters the weekend at 2 under, nine shots behind leader Austin Smotherman.
At the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Brooks Koepka faced a challenging start to his third PGA Tour event of the season. In the opening round on Thursday, amid windy conditions, Koepka carded a 3-over 74, ranking 111th in strokes gained: putting among the 123-player field. He missed six putts from 11 feet or closer, including two from five feet, and lost over two strokes on the greens despite solid ball-striking.
Following the round, Koepka consulted with his coach—identified in reports as Pete Cowen or Jeff Pierce—and spent about 15 minutes discussing his stroke before a 30-minute practice session. The key adjustment was repositioning his hands forward at setup to eliminate an inconsistent feel caused by them being too far back. "I'm not getting as handsy and I was cheating it by getting my hands back," Koepka explained. "Once I got them forward, I felt like I really saw the line a lot better."
The changes paid off dramatically in Friday's second round. Koepka made 131 feet of putts, leading the early wave in putting and gaining nearly four shots on the field. He birdied three of his first four holes, adding more on Nos. 12 (33 feet), 13 (21 feet), 16, and 18 for a front-nine 31 relative to his start. A bogey on No. 8 after a wayward approach did not derail him, as he closed with a 66—his lowest score in eight PGA Tour rounds this season and best non-major round since 2022.
Though he hit only six of 14 fairways and described his ball-striking as worse than Thursday, the putting improvement shaved eight strokes off his total, moving him to 2 under and inside the top 30. When asked if making the cut felt like a small win, Koepka was blunt: "No. If I’m out here to try to make cuts, I’m probably done."
Koepka, who returned to the PGA Tour this year after nearly four years with LIV Golf, cited family as a motivation, wanting his son to see him compete. He has made two of three cuts since rejoining, tying for 56th at the Farmers Insurance Open before missing at the WM Phoenix Open. His best finish at PGA National was a tie for second in 2019. Looking ahead, he plans to play THE PLAYERS Championship and Valspar Championship to complete the Florida Swing.
Koepka reflected on his approach: "I just need to play like I did the first day and then putt like I did today." The tournament continues through Sunday, with Smotherman leading at 11 under after a second-round 69.
