Brooks Koepka wanted to feel the electricity of being in contention to win with nine holes left to play on Sunday.
In Houston, the only thing that’ll get Koepka’s juices flowing is making the 36-hole cut at Memorial Park.
The five-time major winner was 2 under on his opening round after sinking a birdie putt on the sixth hole but went on to double bogey three of the next four holes.
The six-stroke drop-off didn’t just send Koepka’s name plummeting down the Texas Children’s Houston Open leaderboard; it will likely deny him that Sunday experience he felt was the “last missing piece” of his game before the Masters Tournament.
After parring five consecutive holes, Koepka was able to find another birdie on the par-5 16th hole. He followed that up, though, by going backwards again, with a bogey on the following hole and another to finish out the first round.
He sits T-128 in the field after finishing with a 5-over 75.
Koepka, who entered the tournament with three consecutive top-20 finishes in Florida, has not finished under par on Thursday since returning to the PGA Tour in January.