AUGUSTA, Georgia – A few days ago, the rumor surrounding the PGA Tour was that Brooks Koepka would not only not be able to play the Masters, but he could be out for a long time because of an injury to his right knee that forced him to withdraw from the players’ league last month and needed recent surgery.
However, late Sunday afternoon at Augusta National, just after the club’s annual Drive Chip & Putt competition ended, Koepka, 30, was playing a four-hole loop with his caddy, Ricky Elliott in tow.
He then spoke to a small group of reporters and said, in no uncertain terms, that he will play against Masters this week.
“If I had known I would finish in second, I would not have appeared,” said Koepka, channeling Tiger Woods inside. “So, I feel like I can win. ”
The four-time winner of the main championship, which is in 12th place in the world ranking, said that he suffered a dislocation of the kneecap and had surgery on March 16 to reconnect a ligament and “clean whatever has broken from the kneecap”.
Koepka was enigmatic about how he really suffered the injury, saying to Golfweek three weeks ago: “An accident happened while I was with my family over the weekend.”
Describing the injury on Sunday, Koepka said he “slipped and fell slowly to the ground”.
“When you look down and your leg is going that way and your knee that way, you think, ‘Wow, holy shit,'” Koepka said. “I went and did an MRI the next day [a Monday]. We got the results and made a plan. ”
That plan was to do everything possible to get back in time to play against the Masters, but even Koepka admitted that it didn’t seem realistic at the time.
“Immediately, I was like, ‘There’s no chance,’ when you’re on the brace and [the knee is] everything wrapped up, ” Koepka said. “I don’t think anyone expected [such a quick recovery]. We were hoping to be here in Augusta, but you never know. I talked to ‘Doc’ and we said that the goal was to play Augusta, so he was going to do [the surgery] and see if we can play … and here we are. ”
Koepka, who said he was recovering seven hours a day, said he was getting balls six or seven days after surgery. In the past week and a half, he said he had walked and played nine holes a few times at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, where he was recovering.
“I’ve walked enough,” said Koepka. “We are preparing for this. Now just manage the hills and try to find the flatter routes [to walk]. ”
Koepka was away for three months after hurting his left knee while slipping in the CJ Cup in South Korea in 2019. Then, compensating for his knee led to a labrum injury to his left hip and, more recently, he had stiff neck .
The last injury occurred at a time when he rediscovered his form, winning the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February and drawing second in the WGC-Workday Championship.
Koepka finished second to Tiger Woods in the 2019 Masters and finished tied for seventh last November.
Asked if there is any doubt that he will play this week after how he felt on Sunday, Koepka said: “Oh, I’m going to play. I’ll be fine.”