Brooks Koepka Credits Family Stability for Hot Start at PGA Championship

Brooks Koepka started strong at the PGA Championship. The five-time major winner has posted a top-20 finish in every event where he made the cut this season.

Koepka returned to the PGA Tour this year after four years with LIV Golf. He was one of 33 players to break 70 in the first round Thursday at Aronimink Golf Club outside Philadelphia.

Last year brought struggles on the course. Koepka missed the cut in three of four majors and finished 31st in the LIV individual standings.

Challenges extended off the course too. His wife, Jena Sims, suffered a miscarriage at 16 weeks pregnant.

After his first round Thursday, Koepka said family issues last year took a toll on his play. "That was kind of tough to deal with," he said, via the New York Post.

Home life is now in a much better place, matching his solid early scores. "It’s easier to come out to work when everything at home lines up. Everything’s a lot better. Last year was just difficult personally with what was going on off the golf course, nothing to do on it. It was just off," Koepka said.

"So, yeah, just being in a better place. It’s exciting. It’s a little bit of a fresh start as well. I think that’s a big piece of it. Yeah, when all that kind of lines up, it makes it enjoyable to be out here."

"It’s been a long time since I’ve had fun playing golf. I was very frustrated last year. Just wasn’t in a good place, but I think a lot of times when you — it’s like anybody, right? If they’re happy off the golf course, they’re going to play well on the golf course. I think that’s a huge, huge piece of it, and I’ve found that," Koepka told Golf.com last week.

"Refound my happiness, my love for the game. All the pieces are connected. It’s just now I’ve got to go out and go play."

Koepka eyes a fourth PGA Championship title after wins in 2018, 2019 and 2023. That would put him alongside Walter Hagen, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the event's only four-time winners.

He struggled in his early PGA Tour return, tying for 55th at the Farmers Insurance Open and missing the cut at the Waste Management Open. Since then, despite two more missed cuts, his finishes have run from ninth to 18th.