For a five-time major winner like Brooks Koepka, making the cut isn’t the primary goal. Doesn’t matter what stage of the tournament he’s at or which round he’s playing. He’s out there to try and win it. So Koepka was understandably unhappy with his performance when he squeezed into the weekend after a horrid start to the 2026 Cognizant Classic.

“I hit it a lot worse today. Didn’t drive it nearly as well. Iron play wasn’t as good, but the putter was better,” Koepka told the reporters after the post-round presser on Friday. “Made a few adjustments after the round yesterday. We were just kind of running over there. We spent probably about 15 minutes talking about it and then probably 30 minutes’ worth of work.”

His driving accuracy was horrid in the second round. He hit the fairway only 42.86% of the time. That’s only 6 of the 14 holes where he found the short grass. His putting certainly saved him because he needed 131 feet of distance to cover on the green to find the cup.

Speaking of the adjustments he made, the 35-year-old also said, “My hand position at setup. I was just cheating it. Changed the stroke a little bit. I’m not getting as handsy, and I was cheating it by getting my hands back, and it just was creating an inconsistent feel, or where I thought it was taking off, it wasn’t.”

The poor hand positioning and wrist movement contributed to the bad driving. Koepka found the rough, dirt, or sand eight times in 14 holes. He never missed the green on the four par-3 holes. But when it came to hitting longer drives, the 35-year-old struggled to execute his strokes accurately. Fortunately, he was able to recover from them and only scored one bogey throughout the round. But if he hadn’t missed the fairway so often, then maybe he would have scored much better than a 5-under for the day.

However, when asked if he was happy making the cut, Koepka replied, “No. If I’m out here to try to make cuts, I’m probably done.” That wasn’t his goal to begin with. Even if he missed the cut at TPC Scottsdale a few weeks ago.

After the first round, Brooks Koepka has put an 11-stroke difference between himself and the top of the leaderboard. His excellent performance on Friday certainly helped him jump back into the cutline. But will that be enough to put him in contention?

Can Brooks Koepka turn things around and win at home?

Daniel Berger certainly thinks so, as he told the reporters, “He shot 3-over, so I don’t think he played his best. Obviously had a difficult time on 17, but if there’s one thing I know, it’s that he can turn it around in an instant. I expect him to come out tomorrow and play well.”

His prediction turned out to be true as Koepka delivered on Friday with a 5-under 66. With two more rounds to go, the five-time major winner will certainly have a tall mountain to climb. The top of the table is still not decided yet, and there are still six strokes separating him from the leader. Chances are the difference might increase by the end of Friday evening.

With 36 more holes to go, the 35-year-old will have to give it his all to win the 2026 Cognizant Classic. He will have the faith of Berger and the support of his entire family to motivate him along the way.