PALM HARBOR, Fla. – When his tee shot splashed into the water last Saturday at the iconic par-3 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass for the second time in three hours, Brooks Koepka could only laugh.
“Bad luck,” he said.
Gary Player famously said it’s better to be lucky than good. But on St. Patrick’s Day, Koepka said good fortune still wasn’t by his side despite having Northern Irishman Ricky Elliott on the bag.
“I thought the first five holes were actually pretty bad luck,” Koepka said.
Nonetheless, the 31-year-old four-time major champion jumped out to a solid start, shooting a bogey-free 4-under 67 at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course.
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Koepka was one of several players that were blown away by gusting winds last Saturday at the Players Championship. On Monday, Koepka went out to hit balls and the wind was blowing 15 miles per hour.
“It felt dead calm,” he said.
On Thursday, red figures were prominent as the wind laid down and soft conditions from rain earlier in the week took some of the bite out of the Copperhead Course.
“I thought I played really solid and didn’t do much wrong,” Koepka said. “Stress-free. Three more of those, I should be right there.”
For Koepka, it’s better to be good than lucky. He was in good company at 67 with the likes of fellow major winners Dustin Johnson, Louis Oosthuizen and Stewart Cink.
They are all chasing Jhonattan Vegas, who has headcovers adorned with the flag of his native Venezuela. Vegas fired 7-under 64, which included a 4-iron to 6-feet that set up eagle at the first hole, his 10th of the day. Vegas made an early exit from the Players despite playing in the good wave that didn’t have to battle the worst of the weather.
“But I still screwed up 17,” said Vegas of his second-round 78 at TPC Sawgrass.
He switched back to an old set of Mizuno MP-4 irons and found the Copperhead Course more to his liking. Vegas, who hasn’t recorded a single top-10 finish this season, gained more than two strokes on the field with his iron play and more than 3 ½ with his putter.
“Exactly what I needed after last week. Game was there. I took advantage of the great conditions this morning,” Vegas said. “Absolutely a perfect day out here. So, yeah, lucky to have shot a nice 64.”
Luck of the Venezuelan, indeed.
Vegas was a stroke better than Danny Lee, who birdied four of the first five holes en route to shooting 6-under 65. Lee Hodges started even better than Lee, making birdie on his first five holes (Nos. 10-14) to become the first player since the ShotLink era (since 2003) to birdie the first five holes of a round at the Valspar Championship. Greyson Sigg tied Vegas at 7-under until he made a triple bogey at the last hole. But Lee summed up the general sentiment of the field on a day when there was a run of red figures.
“I always like this place. Tee to green it just suits my eye very well,” Lee said. “I wish I can play like this every day. But it’s nice to play under normal conditions again, the last two weeks have been brutally tough and mentally and physically.”
