Brooks Koepka recovers and shines at the Masters after driver mistake.

Brooks Koepka is back in contention at the 2026 Masters after resolving a strange issue with his driver that nearly compromised his early performance. The five-time major champion surprised many by revealing that an inadvertent change in his driver settings affected his opening round, but the correction paid off in the second round, putting him back in a strong position at one of the most prestigious tournaments in world golf.

On Thursday, during the first round at Augusta, Koepka struggled to shine, delivering a performance below expectations that left him out of rhythm. However, in a subsequent practice session, the American discovered that his Titleist GT3 driver, which has 16 possible settings, had been incorrectly adjusted. Instead of the usual A1 setting—which maintains the standard lie of the club—the driver had been switched to the B1 setting, which tilts the lie by 0.75 degrees for a more open face, favoring a fade. This unauthorized change, which Koepka does not know how it occurred, severely hampered him off the tee, causing him to lose an average of 0.41 strokes per shot, according to Data Golf.

“Yeah, I just started driving better,” Koepka admitted. “Some of my driver settings changed from A1 to B1 and nobody noticed. I went back to the A1 setting, which is what I normally use, and I started driving better.”

The result of this adjustment was immediate and impressive: on Friday, Koepka signed for a round of 69, gaining ground and putting himself in contention for the victory. The golfer emphasized that since the adjustment, he feels he is hitting the ball exactly as he wants. “Obviously, with the driver, we adjusted to the right settings and now I know where I can miss. Everything is solid,” he explained. However, Koepka lamented that his putting game has not yet been perfect: “Just the putter… sometimes I feel that if I hit a few shots with a bit more force, they would go in, and I could have shot 5 or 6 under today.”

Since his victory at the 2023 PGA Championship, Koepka has been away from the spotlight in the majors, missing three consecutive cuts last year. But this episode at the 2026 Masters seems to have given new life to the player, who is now officially back on the favorites’ radar — as long as no one tweaks his driver again.

With this unexpected turnaround, Koepka shows that in golf, even the smallest technical detail can make the difference between being out of the race or being a serious title contender. In Augusta, every shot counts, and the American is proving that he is ready to fight until the end, with his driver finally tuned to perfection. The 2026 Masters promises to be a spectacle, and Brooks Koepka is preparing to shine.

This article first appeared on Apito Final.