GOLF.AI • Feb 2, 2026

Koepka's Race to Fix His Putter

For a player fans describe as a 'tank,' Brooks Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour at the Farmers Insurance Open revealed a critical weakness: touch. Despite a solid long game, his performance on the greens was disastrous, ranking last in Strokes Gained: Putting (-2.41) among all players who made the cut. The five-time major champion’s vulnerability was laid bare in his own words: 'You just miss a few and you've got zero confidence.'

In a move born of desperation, Koepka took the extreme step of an emergency four-hour session at the renowned Scotty Cameron Studio. Seeking a specialist's touch, he aimed to diagnose and fix the mechanical flaws that led to multiple missed putts from inside five feet. It’s a crisis intervention reserved for the highest level of the sport, where millimeters and mindset separate champions from the pack.

Koepka later clarified the focus of the intense session was on his setup. He also admitted to a classic pitfall of struggling players: over-practicing. The relentless work may have ironed out technical kinks but came at the cost of feel, a crucial element for a successful putter. Finding that delicate balance between technical precision and intuitive touch is now his primary challenge.

The clock is ticking loudly. Koepka's struggles have left him outside the qualification bubble for the PGA Tour's lucrative Signature Events. He now heads to the WM Phoenix Open with a clear, high-stakes mission: win. Anything less will mean missing out on the upcoming tournaments at Pebble Beach and Riviera, a massive blow not just to his pride, but to his access to the Tour's biggest purses and points.