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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
LOS ANGELES — There have been plenty of golfers posting low scores in the first two rounds of the 123rd U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club.
PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka hasn’t been one of them.
“I’m not a huge fan of this place,” said Koepka, who is even par after 36 holes, on Friday. “I’m not a huge fan of blind tee shots, and then I think there’s just some spots that no matter what you hit, the ball just ends up in the same spot.
“I think it would be more fun to play on just like a regular round than it would be a U.S. Open. I mean, there’s, what, two 8s yesterday? That doesn’t happen.”
Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele both set the U.S. Open scoring record with 8-under 62s about 30 minutes apart in Thursday’s opening round.
Koepka, a two-time U.S. Open champion, said he played better the past two days than he did in the final two rounds of last month’s PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York.
There, Koepka posted scores of 4-under 66 and 3-under 67 on the weekend to defeat Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler by 2 strokes to win the Wanamaker Trophy for the third time.
For whatever reason, Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course, which is hosting the U.S. Open for the first time, doesn’t suit him.
“I won majors on golf courses that I haven’t really liked too much,” Koepka said. “But, yeah, this one, I don’t know. It’s not my favorite.”
Koepka, captain of Smash GC in the LIV Golf League, was 10 strokes behind Fowler when he signed his scorecard Friday.
“Obviously, I got to play two good rounds, so that’s something I have to do,” Koepka said. “But definitely would like to be further up from where I’m at. But it all depends what happens today, whether the wind picks up. … Who knows what those guys are going to get to.”
Koepka hit only 10 of 18 greens Friday. He carded a 1-under 69 in the round.
“I thought every pin position was fine,” Koepka said. “I didn’t think anything was really tricked up. I guess I just didn’t play that great, so not going to really shoot a good number.”