PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Of the 19 first-time participants at the Players this week, Brooks Koepka's name seemed to come up most for predictions to do well. It took nine holes on Thursday morning to realize this won't be his week.
Well, two holes, specifically.
Koepka's first tour of TPC Sawgrass' 17th and 18th holes in competition (he played the back nine first in his opening round) would have been a nightmare even for hackers playing the Pete Dye track on vacation. First, Koepka splashed two balls in the water on No. 17 and made a quadruple bogey:
And then, another lost ball on No. 18 and another quadruple bogey:
Ouch. Koepka was actually at even par after back-to-back birdies when he stood on the 17th tee. But after his 7-8 stretch, he was eight over and making the turn in 44 less than 30 minutes later. Welcome to TPC Sawgrass, Brooks!
The best of Golf Digest delivered daily
Sign UpWill be used in accordance with our PRIVACY POLICY