Brooks Koepka tried to copy Scottie Scheffler and failed miserably

Every player on the PGA Tour wants to be Scottie Scheffler, but it's not as easy as it looks. Brooks Koepka found that out the hard way when he switched out his decade-old putter for Scheffler's model ahead of the WM Phoenix Open. The early results are in, and they're about as bad as possible. 

Koepka returned to the PGA Tour last month after a brief stint with LIV Golf, making his season debut at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. The ball striking and chipping were solid, but his putting was disastrous.

The five-time major winner lost 7.23 strokes from putting in three measured rounds to rank last in the field. He managed to finish in a tie for 56th because he played well in every other category, but the putter cost him a chance to make a statement in his return to the PGA Tour. 

Koepka wasn't happy with his performance on the greens at Torrey Pines, so he immediately made a change by taking a page out of Scheffler's book.

Ahead of the WM Phoenix Open, Koepka switched out his Scotty Cameron Teryllium Newport 2 blade for a TaylorMade Spider. It was a noteworthy move considering Koepka used a Scotty Cameron for nearly 10 years and won five majors with a blade, but the same switch did wonders for Scheffler's career. 

In 2024, Scheffler made the switch from a blade putter to a TaylorMade Spider Tour X and turned his biggest weakness into a strength. Since then, he's won 16 of the 38 golf tournaments he's played. The World No. 1 ranked 22nd on the PGA Tour in strokes gained from putting last season, the best mark of his career. 

Koepka was hoping his switch would yield similar results, but the experiment is off to a rough start.

Brooks Koepka struggles mightily with new putter