Playing in Scottie Scheffler‘s home state with him defending his title, Brooks Koepka is giving him tough competition. Koepka has outscored the #1 after the first round at TPC Craig Ranch by three strokes. And the 33-year-old reveals what he did that helped him escape the tough challenges of the course, which could have easily backfired.

“It’s actually a tough tee shot,” Koepka told the media when talking about the ninth hole. He added, “I think the wind’s just off the left right now, a little down and off the left. So it brings that bunker in, so you’ve got to kind of cheat it. I thought I hit a good enough drive. It’s kind of one of those where, if you mis-hit it, kind of like Scottie did, kind of heel it, you stay short of that bunker.”

Scheffler hit an excellent 304-yard drive off the tee on the ninth hole. It landed perfectly between both the bunkers on the right side of the fairway. However, Koepka’s drive was 12 yards longer and a little further to the right, and that means it dropped down the bunker and forced him to use a different club than the world’s #1. That could have caused a lot of trouble, but he wasn’t too disappointed about it.

“I just hit a good one, and it faded five yards too much. I’m not going to complain about it. It was a good drive. From there, it’s just a layup. Then probably got a little too aggressive with the third shot, trying to go at it. Made a good up-and-down though. It just saved the round. Bogey-free is always a big confidence booster.”

From that point on, Scheffler could afford to aim for the green with a 234-yard iron shot. But Koepka could only play it safe with a 119-yard wedge stroke to get back onto the fairway. He thought of going aggressively and made the mistake of overshooting his third stroke past the green towards the left. From there, Koepka was in damage-control mode, and he did end up saving the par-5 hole for an even par.

Koepka is playing the CJ Cup Byron Nelson ($10.3M) for the first time since 2021, and the course hasn’t changed much, per him.

“The greens are totally different than when we played. That’s obviously the biggest thing. Off the tee, it looks pretty good. The place hasn’t changed too much. It’s familiar. I like it. I feel comfortable on it.”

Koepka is no stranger to the CJ Cup. He has played the tournament on four separate occasions in the past. In fact, he won it in his very first attempt way back in 2018. Now, given how he has started, Koepka also set himself up in an interesting position for the first time this season.

Is Brooks Koepka finally on the verge of breaking the curse?

Brooks Koepka’s recent struggles on the golf course have been well documented. Whether it’s LIV Golf, the majors, or the PGA Tour, the 33-year-old has faced a lot of issues setting himself up for a victory. For instance, in 2025, he missed three cuts, and his best performance of the year was a T-12 finish at the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. On the PGA Tour since returning, he has 1 top-10 finish and five top-25 finishes.

But things might be changing at TPC Craig Ranch. After the first round, Koepka has been absolutely clinical on the golf course. He shot a flawless 8-under 63 after 18 holes on Thursday. The five-time major winner is leading the field by one stroke going into the second round.

This is the first time since his return that Koepka is at the top of the leaderboard after the first round. Considering that he had been playing around with different putters recently, it looks like he has finally found the right match. If he continues to play this way, then he might finally win a PGA Tour title. And doing so in Scheffler’s home state will also be a huge morale boost.