Getty Brooks Koepka gets stretched out during the PGA Championship.
Brooks Koepka is in contention to win his third straight PGA Championship but the golfer is battling a hip injury. During the second round of the PGA Championship, Koepka was seen laying on the ground as his trainer stretched out his leg while the golfer was still completing his day on the course.
After the round, Koepka clarified that it was a hip injury and not related to the knee ailment that bothered him dating back to 2019. Koepka described his hip as being “tight” but did not seem concerned that the injury would linger into the final rounds.
“It was my hip,” Koepka noted after the second round, per PGA.com. “Nothing to do with my knee. It’s fine. I woke up this morning, it was tight, and worked out and it got even tighter and then we loosened it up. My TFL (tensor fascia latae muscle) is usually pretty tight on the side. It just kind of moved to the front and tightened up the front and kind of the inside and groin. It will be fine. It’s something I’m not worried about. It was a little tight when I was hitting balls on the range but it’s nothing to be worried about. We’ll loosen it up again and it will be a lot better.”
Koepka Is Considering Having Knee Surgery After the Season
Koepka has been dealing with a knee injury since last season but does not believe the current flare up with his hip is connected. According to ESPN, Koepka partially tore his patella tendon in 2019 and had an MRI conducted on his knee prior to the Memorial in July. Koepka admitted that surgery could be an option after the season if his knee does not show signs of improvement.
“The tear has to be worse to go under the knife, but we’ll see how it goes,” Koepka said in July, per ESPN. “We’ll see when my season ends and go get stem cell again, most likely, and figure it out from there.”
During the same interview, Koepka admitted that he has been playing through pain since the PGA Tour resumed.
“I feel like I’m getting better and better every day,” Koepka added. “I think last week I saw signs of it, made some adjustments this weekend as far as just seeing how scared I was to get on my left side. … You can battle through it all the time, but still, pain will make you adjust really quickly, and just seeing where I was. Made a few adjustments in my setup just to kind of help ease it and help get my body through that.”
Koepka Changed His Swing to Put Less Stress on His Knee
Given the ongoing knee injury, Koepka admitted to making some changes to his swing to help alleviate some of the pain. By opening up his stance, Koepka has been able to generate power without feeling the same level of pain.
“It allows me to actually go forward on the left side and really drive off that right foot and not feel anything in my left side,” Koepka noted, per Golf.com. “It’s nice to feel comfortable over the ball. I’m starting to see it come out of the right pocket, the right window, and that’s exciting.”
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