Brooks Unhappy with Irons; Scottie Hits Awful Shot

Brooks Koepka was a tad frustrated with his iron play in the second round of the U.S. Open. He knows he can play better shots. At even par, he needs to stay where he is or advance on the field in the third round to have a chance to win his third U.S. Open.

Scottie Scheffler cited patience for his steady play. He needed it after hitting an absolutely awful shot early in the round.  Still, he’s at 3-under par and may be tied for the lead at the end of the day.

“(I’m) definitely driving the ball really well. Putting the ball in the fairway. That’s really important,” Koepka said to media after finishing.

"“Iron play has been horrific the last two days, so I’ve got to clean that up. Just coming out of it a little bit.”"

He doesn’t know if it’s because the turf is so tight to the ground or not, but he feels that it’s something he can fix with a little time on the range.

“Just got to be a little bit more on top of it,” he said succinctly.

With an eagle and three birdies in his round, he is not unhappy with his play. However, he did make bogey after flaring one right off the tee on the 10th.  That left him under a tree with no backswing.  He was forced to go out sideways to the fairway which cost him a shot.

Brooks Koepka also missed a 3-footer at the 15th for par.  His second shot missed right of the green.  He hacked out brilliantly to about three feet, but couldn’t get that putt to drop.

“If I’m honest, probably didn’t play enough break,” he said about the miss.

"“It is what it is, but I didn’t lose confidence over it. Let’s put it that way.”"

He said overall his game is in good shape, but he was disappointed in his irons which are usually the best part of his game.  Currently, he thinks it’s not even close to his average iron game.  Still, he remains confident.

“Hopefully for the weekend I’ll be right there,” Brooks Koepka added.

“I don’t come here hoping for second place.” — Brooks Koepka

Scheffler said he had two “silly bogeys” early in the round, at the 5th and 6th, and considering those holes, he was pleased to be near the top of the leaderboard.

After almost driving the green on the 5th, Scottie Scheffler chunked his uphill approach.  It was an awful shot.  The ball nearly rolled back down to his feet.

Sir Nick Faldo, who was on the telecast at the time, said, “You can putt these.”  But of course, Scheffler hadn’t.

"“If a few more putts would have fallen in versus around the edge, it would have been a really special day. But 3-under was a good score for me, especially being 2-over through 6,” Scheffler said to media after his round."

On the par-three 6th, he hit his first putt too hard and missed the comeback for par.  After that, he played very good golf with birdies on the 8th, 13th, and 16th, and an eagle on the 14th.

When asked about the new names on the leaderboard, he said they were not new to him.

"“You guys may be surprised to see certain people up on the leaderboard, but I think most of the guys out here aren’t that surprised because there’s so many talented guys,” he summed up."

Both Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler are prepared to battle it out on the weekend.

“I don’t come here hoping for second place. I think if you are a good player, you want to come in here and win,” Koepka said about the U.S. Open. “I feel like everybody should be confident in themselves.”