The American shot a bogey-free round of 63, a course record, to finish on -7. He goes into the second round one shot clear of New Zealand’s Danny Lee and four clear of England’s Tommy Fleetwood.
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Playing alongside Masters winner Tiger Woods and Open champion Francesco Molinari, 29-year-old Koepka believes his round could have been even better.
The three-time major champion said: “I’ve never been this confident. I think I’m still learning, understanding my game and I’ve figured it out. I think over the next few years I’m excited for what’s to come.
“That was one of the best rounds I’ve played, probably, as a professional. This golf course is brutal. It tests every asset of your game. You’ve got to drive the ball straight, it’s long so you’ve got to hit it far and really position yourself with some of these shots in. You can’t miss, you can’t take a shot off, and that’s what I love.
“The funny thing is, it could have been a lot lower.”
Koepka, Molinari and Woods tee off in Friday’s second round at 3.49pm (BST).
First round leaderboard
Brooks Koepka -7
Danny Lee -6
Tommy Fleetwood -3
Mike Lorenzo-Vera -2
Luke List -2
Pat Parez -2
Chez Reavie -2
Sunghoon Kang -2
Round two tee times: Friday 17 May
All times are British Summer Time (BST) and players are from the United States unless stated.
Starting at hole one
11:45: Ryan Vermeer, Adrian Otaegui (Spa), Jason Kokrak
11:56: Rod Perry, Alexander Bjork (Swe), Ross Fisher (Eng)
12:07: Eddie Pepperell (Eng), Branden Grace (SA), Ryan Palmer
12:18: Ryan Moore, Joel Dahmen, Thorbjorn Olesen (Den)
12:29: Rich Beem, YE Yang (Kor), John Daly
12:40: Steve Stricker, Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay
12:51: Shaun Micheel, Sung Kang (Kor), Alex Beach
13:02: Kevin Na, Cheng-Tsung Pan (Tpe), Ryan Armour
13:13: Danny Willett (Eng), Webb Simpson, Zach Johnson
13:24: Brandon Stone (SA), Kevin Tway, Bronson Burgoon
13:35: Si Woo Kim (Kor), Daniel Balin, Tom Lewis (Eng)
13:46: Jazz Janewattananond (Tha), Tyler Hall, Michael Kim
13:57: Mikko Korhonen (Fin), Craig Hocknull (Aus), Jhonattan Vegas (Ven)
14:10: Ben Cook, Scott Piercy, Brian Gay
14:21: Patton Kizzire, Thomas Pieters (Bel), Adam Hadwin (Can)
14:32: Brandt Snedeker, Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha), Max Homa
14:43: Henrik Stenson (Swe), David Lipsky, Richard Sterne (SA)
14:54: Erik Van Rooyen (SA), Shane Lowry (Ire), Tommy Fleetwood (Eng)
15:05: Sergio Garcia (Spa), Kelly Kraft, Adam Scott (Aus)
15:16: Louis Oosthuizen (SA), Charley Hoffman, Patrick Reed
15:27: Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Justin Rose (Eng)
15:38: Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Alex Noren (Swe)
15:49: Brooks Koepka, Francesco Molinari (Ita), Tiger Woods
16:00: Aaron Wise, Ryan Fox (NZ), Shugo Imahira (Jpn)
16:11: Julian Suri, Marty Jertson, Martin Trainer
16:22: Lucas Herbert (Aus), Cory Schneider, Sungjae Im (Kor)
Starting at hole 10
11:45: Michael Thompson, Danny Lee (NZ), Justin Bertsch
11:56: Cameron Champ, Rich Berberian, Jr., Lucas Glover
12:07: Emiliano Grillo (Arg), Daniel Berger, Paul Casey (Eng)
12:18: Tony Finau, Billy Horschel, Ian Poulter (Eng)
12:29: Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa), Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng), Gary Woodland
12:40: Padraig Harrington (Ire), Martin Kaymer (Ger), Keegan Bradley
12:51: Jon Rahm (Spa), Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth
13:02: Pat Perez, Kevin Kisner, Bryson DeChambeau
13:13: Rory McIlroy (NI), Phil Mickelson, Jason Day (Aus)
13:24: Matt Kuchar, Satoshi Kodaira (Jpn), Cameron Smith (Aus)
13:35: Corey Conners (Can), Jim Furyk, Marc Leishman (Aus)
13:46: Jorge Campillo (Spa), Stuart Deane, Chesson Hadley
13:57: Dylan Frittelli (SA), Andrew Filbert, Kurt Kitayama
17:10: Rob Labritz, Beau Hossler, J.J. Spaun
17:21: Sam Burns, Jeffrey Schmid, Keith Mitchell
17:32: Jason Caron, Byeong-hun An (Kor), Andrew Putnam
17:43: John O’Leary (Ire), Harold Varner III, Kyle Stanley
17:54: Mike Lorenzo-Vera (Fra), Justin Harding (SA), Sam Ryder
18:05: Vijay Singh (Fij), Jason Dufner, Jimmy Walker
18:16: Graeme McDowell (NI), Brendan Jones (Aus), Chez Reavie
18:27: Russell Knox (Sco), Tyrrell Hatton (Eng), Haotong Li (Chn)
18:38: Lee Westwood (Eng), Shaun Norris (SA), Charles Howell III
18:49: Lucas Bjerregaard (Den), JB Holmes, Troy Merritt
19:00: Joost Luiten (Ned), Brian Mackey, Matt Wallace (Eng)
19:11: Casey Russell, Abraham Ancer (Mex), Luke List
19:22: Craig Bowden, Adam Long, Joaquin Niemann (Chi)
Pundit predictions: who will win?
Steve DiMeglio, Golfweek: Brooks Koepka
“Koepka can hang with anybody, no matter what anyone says. And he’ll be hanging with the Wanamaker Trophy again come Sunday night [weather permitting]. What’s not to like about the guy who held off Tiger Woods last year to win the PGA Championship? He’s won three of the last seven majors he’s played.”
Christine Brennan, Golfweek, Tiger Woods
“Tiger Woods hasn’t hit a competitive shot since his final putt at the Masters. He spent a good portion of one of his practice days at the White House, hanging out with Donald Trump while receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom. We have no idea how his back is doing, how he’s hitting the ball, what he’s thinking or how optimistic he’s feeling. No matter. The stars have aligned this year. This is Tiger’s Spring, and he’s going to win again this week at the PGA.”
Tom Kershaw, Independent: Brooks Koepka
“The 2018 Player of the Year and defending PGA Champion came so close to clinching victory at Augusta and continues to show himself to be one of the game’s most indomitable players at the majors. Bethpage Black is perfectly suited to his game and he should have the mental edge to outclass his close friend Dustin Johnson.”
Dan McDonald, PGA.com: Tommy Fleetwood
“Last year, it was his Ryder Cup partner Francesco Molinari that found success in the Open Championship, as well as a T-6 finish in the PGA Championship and top 25 finishes in the US Open and Masters. This year, New York will get the ‘Tommy... Tommy... Tommy…’ chants ready for his victory walk down the 18th at Bethpage Black as Fleetwood breaks through for his first major championship.”
“Not high on Tiger this week as he might be rusty not having played a competitive round since the Masters. Take [Rory] McIlroy and Jason Day for top 10s, but the winner is Rickie Fowler. He’s way overdue for a major and was T7 at the 2016 Barclays at Bethpage Black.”
Michael Rosenberg, Sports Illustrated: Rory McIlroy
“I love everything about this for McIlroy. The course favours long hitters. It’s a tournament he has won twice, and all the pre-tourney attention is on Tiger Woods, so he won’t battle the same kind of forces that occasionally mess with his head. McIlroy has finished in the top 10 in eight of his last nine starts. This feels like his week, and fun fact: I have never made a bad prediction about a golf tournament.”
Mark McClusky, Sports Illustrated: Jason Day
“Bethpage is going to be a long slog after a wet spring in the northeast, and to win majors, you’ve got to make some putts. I’m going with a guy who’s got perhaps the best combination of driver prowess and a putter that could get very, very hot - Jason Day. He’s got four top-10s so far this season, finished T4 last time the pros played at Bethpage in 2016, and at a course that might straddle the divide between a traditional PGA and US Open set up, something seems right for him this week.”
Luke Norris, Fansided: Dustin Johnson
“Yep, I’m copping out a little bit and going with the number one player in the world and the betting favourite here but I truly do think that major championship number two is in the cards. I don’t think Bethpage will play as difficult as Oakmont did a few years back when he captured his US Open title but there are some slight similarities and his game fits right into it. On a course on which there are plenty of mistakes to make, I think he makes less than anyone this week and takes the Wanamaker Trophy. Johnson wins the PGA Championship at 8-under.”
US PGA Championship winner betting odds
Prices to win according to Oddschecker, as of 17 May.
Brooks Koepka: 6/4
Dustin Johnson: 11/1
Tommy Fleetwood: 12/1
Rickie Fowler: 21/1
Jason Day: 22/1
Jon Rahm: 25/1
Justin Rose: 33/1
Bethpage Black course hosts the 2019 US PGA Championship golf major
(Image credit: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
US PGA Championship TV guide
Sky Sports will show live coverage of the major from Bethpage Black.
Friday 17 May: second round
1pm: featured groups on Sky Sports Golf and red button
6pm: second round on Sky Sports Golf
10pm: second round on Sky Sports Main Event
Saturday 18 May: third round
4pm: third round on Sky Sports Golf
5.30pm: third round on Sky Sports Main Event
Sunday 19 May: fourth round
4pm: final round on Sky Sports Golf
7pm: final round on Sky Sports Main Event
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