Brooks Koepka on reading rivals' body language, 'trenching' and Rory's sixth major

Brooks Koepka sat down for a range session with Dan on Golf ahead of the Farmers Insurance Skins Game, and he spoke more openly than tour players usually do. In the 29-minute video, posted Thursday, October 29, he talks about why he shows no emotion after a shot, what he thinks of players pressing down the grass behind the ball, and how Rory McIlroy's sixth major lands with him.

Reading the other guy

Koepka says he pays close attention to playing partners' body language. He can tell from a swing whether a player took something off or added a little, and he listens to the sound of the strike. He also notices when a routine speeds up or slows down. That is why he stays stoic: after a shot he hands the club back to caddie Ricky and only tells him later whether he caught it thin. "I want to make them use all their senses," he says. He also says he doesn't talk much during a round "cuz I'm not trying to help them." Asked about Bryson DeChambeau's complaint that McIlroy didn't talk to him at Augusta, Koepka says McIlroy shouldn't have, and that he wouldn't have spoken to McIlroy either.

Trenching and tamping

Asked about "trenching" and spike marks, Koepka says he has noticed, now that he's back on tour, how chewed up the area around the hole gets late on Sunday, which he suspects is from more players and caddies using AimPoint. He is also not a fan of players pressing the club down behind the ball in the rough. He says he saw one bad case this year, during a chip, and let it go because the player made a double or triple on the next hole.

Five majors and a target

On McIlroy getting to six, Koepka says he is happy for him and calls him "arguably one of the best players to ever play the game," then adds: "I also just want to beat the crap out of him." He says it's annoying because he feels he let a few years slip by, and that it motivates him. He still thinks he can get to double digits.

Of his five, Oak Hill in 2023 was the most gratifying because of the knee injury that came before it. Augusta still bugs him. If he could have one shot back, he says, it would be the 16th tee shot in the final round in 2019, or the putt on 15 that day.

The rest of the range

Koepka also says he blames a disappointing year on losing feel, especially with the putter, and has gone back to basics with help from Brad Faxon, including putting with a wedge and one-handed. His driver key is keeping the ball from creeping back in his stance and not aiming right, and his go-to under pressure is a low cut he calls a fairway finder.

The Skins Game airs on Black Friday, November 27, at 9 a.m. ET on Prime Video. Koepka is also on the TGL schedule, which opens December 27.