PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Brooks Koepka has a lot on his mind these days: He will play at the Players Championship in a few weeks, as part of his preparation for the Masters.
Also on his mind: the Stanley Cup playoffs.
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And no, he’s not abandoning his Florida Panthers.
Koepka – a South Florida native, a huge Panthers fan and someone who made no secret of how much he enjoyed their runs until the end three Stanley Cup finals And the last two championships — said Sunday that he still thinks they can make the playoffs this season, even though the current standings suggest that’s unlikely.
“I hope so,” he said Sunday after finishing his round at the Cognizant Classic, about an hour’s drive from the arena where the Panthers call home. “It’s going to be hard.”
Koepka, who was playing a short drive from his home, shot a final round of 65 on Sunday, finishing at 10 under for the week at PGA National. It was his third tournament and second cut since returning to the PGA Tour after about four years playing LIV Golf.
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The Panthers have been crushed by injuries this season, with Captain Alexander Barkov having not yet played due to knee surgery, defender Dmitry Kulikov was limited to two games and Matthew Tkachuk, Olympic gold medalist missed 47 games while recovering from offseason surgery to repair a torn adductor. They entered Sunday eight points out of a wild card spot with 23 games remaining.
Koepka, like many fans, wonders if every game over the past four seasons has taken its toll.
“I think with three straight years of being in the Stanley Cup Final, it’s hard to stay healthy for that long and then enjoy the Olympics as well,” Koepka said. “I hope they do, but I’ll be there if I can.”
It wouldn’t be a surprise. It’s not really unusual for him to attend Panthers games when his schedule allows.
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Koepka has done plenty of them over the years, including one of Florida’s Eastern Conference Finals matches in 2023 – the day after his PGA Championship victory. He brought the Wanamaker Trophy with him to that game, then watched the Panthers hoist their own big silver trophies in each of the last two seasons. (He also used a traffic cone during a 2023 Panthers game to mock defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who had profane vengeance during the team’s championship parade a year later.)
That said, Koepka still seems confident in his club.
“Don’t worry,” he said.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
