"If you have a lead and cough it up, that's choking": Brooks Koepka's brutal honesty ahead of US PGA

At a press conference ahead of this week's PGA Championship, four-time major winner Brooks Koepka gave some insight into how he dealt with his second place finish at last month's Masters tournament.

At one point, Koepka held a four-shot lead over eventual winner Jon Rahm but in the end the American lost out to the Spaniard by the same margin.

Asked how he processed that loss, Koepka responded: "I just -- I reflected all Sunday night. I didn't sleep Sunday night just trying to figure out what exactly it was. Thought about it for a few days after and really honed in on what I was doing and what went wrong. "From there just never let it happen again. That's the whole goal, right? You're not trying to dwell on it. Yeah, it sucks to finish second, but at the same time, as long as you learn from it, you'll be fine." The interviewer then referenced a recent podcast Koepka had been on where the golfer had referred to his Masters final day collapse as 'choking'. He then quizzed the American about whether he truly felt he'd choked. Koepka replied: "It is choking, right? If you have a lead and cough it up, that's choking. "But at the same time, I'm not dwelling on it. I've been in the lead, that position a couple of times and haven't capitalized. I can't do it every single time. I'm not perfect. As long as I can learn from it, I'll be better off from it." Asked about his form heading into the year's second major, Koepka seemed in confident spirits: "Feel good. Game is in good shape, feel healthy. It's been nice to just play some good golf, so looking forward to a good week. Good golf course, so it will be a good test."

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The 105th PGA Championship will begin on Thursday 18 May. For tee times, how to watch, ticket and course information, check out our comprehensive 2023 PGA Championship Preview for everything you need to know about this year's tournament.