Brooks Koepka has been openly critical of slow play, especially during the final round of the Masters in 2023, where the LIV Golf star missed out on the green jacket to Jon Rahm

Brooks Koepka previously hit out at slow play (

Image: Lauren Sopourn/Getty Images)

Brooks Koepka made no secret of his frustration with slow play when playing behind Patrick Cantlay’s group at the 2023 Masters, and he finds himself in a similar scenario heading into Thursday’s opening round.

Koepka will kick off his Masters alongside two PGA Tour stars in Arnold Palmer Invitational champion Russell Henley and Sungjae Im, with the LIV Golf member looking to win his sixth major and first green jacket. The closest he has come to securing victory around Augusta National came in 2019 and 2023, where the Smash GC captain finished tied-second on both occasions.

The most recent saw him lose out to fellow LIV member Jon Rahm after Koepka carded a final-round three-over-par 75, having headed into championship Sunday two clear of the eventual winner.

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Koepka was playing in the final group alongside Rahm and had Cantlay and Viktor Hovland ahead of him. In the aftermath, the 34-year-old took aim at the pace of play in front, commenting: “Yeah, the group in front of us was brutally slow. Jon went to the bathroom like seven times during the round, and we were still waiting.”

This was not the first time that criticism surrounding slow play centered around Cantlay, who in the weeks following, addressed the claims and admitted he was slightly slower than most. “Yeah, I’m definitely slower than average – have been my whole career,” he said in 2023.

“I definitely take my time. And when I hit my ball on a bulkhead, I’m definitely going to take my time to make sure I make the right decision and try to get the ball back into the right spot.” Two years on, Koepka finds himself once again playing behind Cantlay after tee times were released on Tuesday.

Patrick Cantlay has faced criticism ( Getty Images)

Interestingly, Cantlay will play alongside another slow-play critic in Matt Fitzpatrick in the first two rounds. In the wake of Koepka’s comments in 2023, Fitzpatrick spoke up at a similar time, having won the RBC Heritage whilst playing in the final group alongside Cantlay and Spieth a week after the Masters complaints.

“It’s like hitting your head against a brick wall,” Fitzpatrick told Sky Sports. “No one ever gets penalised. I think the last person to get penalised was the young lad (Guan Tianlang) at The Masters in 2013. I think that tells you enough about where people are at with this. It’s ridiculous, really.

“I think it’s a real issue, way more needs to be done. The thing is, I really like referees over here; they are great people, but I did not see a single ref all day. There were a few shots we were waiting, and I don’t understand where they are all hiding. It does become frustrating when you are waiting so long.”