Five-time Major winner Brooks Koepka found himself three-under-par for The Masters championship after rounds of 72 and 69. One key reason for the improvement was an accidental set-up change with his equipment.
The Accidental Driver Adjustment
Koepka uses a Titleist GT3 driver. He normally has it set-up in the A1 position, which is standard loft and standard lie.
However, it had moved itself to B1. Instead of being standard all-round, the loft was standard, but the lie was .75° flat, promoting a more fade-bias flight. This is not ideal for the more draw-bias course of Augusta National.
Speaking on Friday, Koepka clarified the incident, stating: “Just drove it better. Some of my setting on the driver switched from A1 to B1.”
“No one noticed it. Switching back to A1, which is what we usually had it, and just driving it better.”
Immediate Improvement on the Fairway
Noticing it on the driving range after his round, Koepka’s overnight switch resulted in two more fairways being hit on Friday, as his number jumped from 7/14 to 9/14.
Firing a three-under 69 on Friday, it means he is in-and-around the top 10 heading into the weekend of The Masters. He is searching for a sixth Major title and first Green Jacket.
It’s unclear how the incident occurred. Players are always experimenting with equipment and are regularly travelling, so it could well be that the head was removed from the shaft and not put back together correctly.
Similar Equipment Mishaps
It’s not the first time unintentional gear changes have happened. Matt Fitzpatrick endured a slightly embarrassing moment in 2024.
Struggling off the tee, Fitzpatrick revealed that he had added a four-gram weight on his driver grip when doing some testing in February 2023, but it remained there without his knowledge instead of being removed.
After starting to miss left, Fitzpatrick explained he had simply forgotten all about the added weight. The solution only came to light when his driver was being regripped in February 2024.
“There was a weight in the grip, which we did some testing with in February last year, and never took it out. For whatever reason, I just forgot that it was ever in there,” Fitzpatrick said.
“As soon as it came out and I hit it the next day, it felt night and day. I could hit it as hard as I want, and it wouldn’t go left. Previously, I felt like I hit it hard, and it would just go straight left.”
Koepka is now searching for a sixth Major title and first Green Jacket at The Masters.