7/1 Koepka’s focus on Bethpage

Brooks Koepka may be the 7/1 favourite to win this week’s AT&T Byron Nelson in Dallas – but he is more concerned about preparing for next week’s major.

The 29-year-old heads the market in what is a relatively weak field for a PGA Tour event, with Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (14/1) and Texas native Jordan Spieth (20/1) the other big names in the line-up.

Many players like to take the week off before a major and with the US PGA Championship moved up to May from its traditional August berth, that is the case this time around.

Koepka is now ranked third in the world after a superb few seasons in which he has won the 2017 and 2018 US Open titles plus last year’s US PGA Championship.

The 29-year-old has planned his 2019 schedule around the big four events and is hoping to hone the mechanics of his game before heading to Long Island’s Bethpage Black Course to try and defend his title (Koepka 12/1 – US PGA Championship Outright).

“I usually play the week before a major. It’s worked for me,” he told reporters. “You don’t need to play that great. I like building a little bit of rhythm, finding my game, figuring out how to score, how to manage my game.”

Winning in Texas would certainly be a boost for the Florida resident although he seems more concerned with keeping up his superb record in the majors.

In addition to his three wins, Koepka has another six top-10 finishes and shared second spot at last month’s Masters.

Tiger Woods claimed Augusta glory and the 15-time major winner is 9/1 joint-favourite with Dustin Johnson to go back-to-back despite the fact he has not played a tournament since slipping the latest Green Jacket on his shoulders.

Odds subject to change.