Brooks Koepka fired a 6-under 64 to seize a share of the first-round lead at the RBC Canadian Open, crediting a steadier mind and a putter that finally came alive during a late back-nine surge.
Brooks Koepka didn’t look like a man about to share the lead at the RBC Canadian Open for the first two-thirds of his round.
He was even par after eight holes, with only one birdie and one bogey. Then something shifted. Over his final 10 holes, Koepka caught fire—making seven birdies and posting 5-under 30 on the back nine. The payoff was a 6-under 64 on Thursday and a share of the first-round lead alongside Sahith Theegala. Emiliano Grillo. Eric Cole. Matthew Anderson and Sam Burns.
The number that made the moment click for him wasn’t a rocket-powered drive—it was the flat stick. Koepka made nearly 108 feet of putts during the round and finished fifth in Strokes Gained: Putting. gaining 3.491 strokes on the field. He entered the week ranked 136th in SG: Putting. and the year has been a struggle there; he has gained strokes on the greens in only two of his last six starts.
Speaking after his round. Koepka. 36. said he felt like the best part of Thursday was finally “freeing the mind.” He described a specific tweak with his setup—moving the ball position back a little bit with the putter—saying it helped him “free up the mechanical side of it.” His goal. he said. was simple: “not really think of anything other than just have it slightly a bit back of where it’s been.”.
That putter was also the difference between “solid” and “dangerous” at points when his approach gave him chances. In particular, Koepka’s approach on the 141-yard, par-3 14th checked up 19 feet, 3 inches short. From there, he birdied four of the next five holes, including the last two straight.
Koepka pointed to his play away from the greens, too. “Ball striking has been good all year,” he said. “Felt like it was OK today. Better than OK. it was solid. but nothing spectacular.” He framed the week as a hunt for warmth on the greens. adding: “I just need that putter to heat up. I feel like I’ve been knocking on the door playing good enough to win. playing good enough to have a chance on Sunday. it’s just been the putter that’s holding me back. Hopefully three more days of this.”.
For Koepka, this week also carries extra context. It’s his 12th event back on the PGA TOUR since accepting the terms of the Returning Member Program. He has missed three cuts. and his only top-10 finish came at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches. where he tied for ninth. Still. there are signs the form is coming around in spells: three of his last four finishes have been solid. including a 12th-place tie at the Masters and a 14th-place tie in his last start. THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson.
At THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, Wyndham Clark won on Sunday after shooting 60.
On Thursday at the RBC Canadian Open, the raw statistics tell the story, but Koepka’s explanation makes the emotion plain: he didn’t arrive saying his ball-striking was a mystery. He arrived frustrated that the putter hadn’t matched it. By the end of his round, the greens finally did.
Now he’ll try to carry that sudden lift into the weekend—where the leaderboard is crowded, the share of the lead is real, and the margin between “almost” and “champion” can be as small as a few feet rolling toward the hole.
Brooks Koepka RBC Canadian Open PGA TOUR first-round lead 64 putting Strokes Gained: Putting Returning Member Program