Brooks Koepka: "If I'm out here to try and make cuts, I'm probably done"

Brooks Koepka told reporters he doesn't consider it a "small win" after he fought back to make the cut at the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches. 

Koepka, 35, was staring down the barrel of missing his second cut in three starts since making his return to the PGA Tour following his shock exit from LIV Golf. 

It has been clear that the American has been struggling with his putter and, by his lofty standards, was dreadful once again on the greens on Thursday at PGA National in Florida. 

Koepka, who opened with a three-over 74, ranked 111th in the field in that department, but was the second best player with the flatstick on Friday as he bounced back with a 66. 

It left him on two-under overall, but Koepka will be acutely aware that defending champion Jacob Bridgeman made the cut on the number last year before climbing the leaderboard. 

Yet the five-time major wasn't content at all. 

"If I'm out here to try to make cuts, I'm probably done," he said. 

He added: "I hit it a lot worse today. Didn't drive it nearly as good. Iron play wasn't as good, but the putter was better. Made a few adjustments after the round yesterday."

Said adjustments included his hand position at setup.

"We spent probably about 15 minutes talking about it and then probably 30 minutes' worth of work," said Koepka. 

Koepka said he was "cheating it" by "not getting my hands back". 

"And it just was creating an inconsistent feel, or where I thought it was taking off it wasn't," he said. 

"Once I got them forward, I felt like I really saw the line a lot better and could see where visually it's got to take off on the right line. They weren't matching yesterday."

Koepka was dialled on his opening nine, making three birdies in his first four holes. 

Two more followed at the 16th and 18th to make the turn in 31 strokes. 

After making the turn, Koepka was made to wait until the fourth hole to make another birdie. He dropped a shot at the eighth after he missed the green long and found a tricky lie. 

"It was almost impossible to keep that close," he said. "Second shot just jumped on me. 

"It hasn't jumped all week, which was kind of weird. You could see in the ball flight it was just going through the wind and cutting, and the wind was into and off the right.

"Not a good place to miss it. But you've just got to take your medicine and get out."

Asked what his expectations are for the rest of the week, Koepka said: "Just need to play good. 

"Just go throw two rounds together that are pretty solid, play well, and see where it puts me."

Koepka's best result here came in 2019 when he tied for second.