BRADENTON, Fla. – Relaxation literally became a pain in Brooks Koepka’s neck on Saturday.
The 36-hole leader woke up at the WGC-Workday Championship and couldn’t even turn 90 degrees to the right or left.
“It’s very painful, because it’s on the left and right, my bells are tight and my shoulders and hips. It just goes down the chain, ”he said. “It’s like a knife going into the left side of my neck. I couldn’t expand today for any reason. ”
The discomfort seemed to be immediate on Saturday, as Koepka’s area-wide cadre tried to open the field, uselessly. Of course, Koepka would regularly stretch her neck before and after each scene, but remained stiff. He tied his tee picture on the left, into a palmetto bush, leading to a bogey. He shook his approach into the second wide hole to the south, leading to another collapsed view.
A neck injury lights up for Koepka during Round 3
Consortium WGC-Working Day Competition: full-field scores | Full coverage
The pain subsided all round, and he struggled on his way back into the tournament, going 4 under the rest of the track to shoot an honorable 70 and sitting just two shots back from Collin Morikawa.
“I’m not very happy,” he said. “I’m frustrated that I feel like I do. Seeing a few early shots is no fun. I saw it a little early in the week just because of it, and it’s not fun to run. I need to feel good tomorrow. ”
Koepka said he has been plagued by a stiff neck since the start of the year. He said the pain radiated “under my skull” and traveled down both sides of his neck. He said he would have to go through a bottle of Aleve and Advil to get through the weekend. He’s not usually a player with a warm-up long before a competitive round, he said, who may arrive early Sunday to hit more balls in a bid to get away.
“Today is probably one of the worst days,” he said. “I’ve tried everything – sleep differently, I’ve been given a job. I don’t want it from anyone; it’s not fun. This is the first time I’ve ever had a strong neck, but it sucks. ”