Brooks Koepka says his two-major haul last year has left his confidence sky-high and believes half of his competitors are beaten by the time they reach the first tee at majors.
The world No 3 successfully defended his US Open title last June before he held off Tiger Woods to win the PGA Championship two months later for his third major success.
Koepka, who is the reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year, went on to win the CJ Cup in October to become the world No 1 for the first time in his career and is in high spirits for this week’s The Players.
Asked what impact his form on the biggest stages has offered ahead of next month’s Masters, which he missed last year through injury, he said: “Just confidence. I’ve got a lot more confidence now than I’ve ever had. That’s all it is.
“The majors are, I don’t want to say easier, but I feel it kind of is.
“You’ve got so many guys playing, a couple of them are mentally going to beat themselves up. Just in contention, if it’s tough, certain guys are going to throw themselves out, and it really kind of whittles down to a few players.
“Especially by Saturday you can pretty much almost predict who is going to be there come Sunday.
“That’s what I love about going to a major. Half the guys you’ve already beat them by the time you’ve stepped on the first tee.
