PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Brooks Koepka spent most of Wednesday afternoon and night icing his re-injured left wrist after an incident at The Players Championship that could have ended far worse if not for the golfer's quick reflexes.
Koepka was injured when he managed to stop his swing because someone drove a golf cart in front of him during a practice session on the range. The cart was about 15 yards in front of him, and Koepka said the driver was lucky he was able to stop his 3-iron.
"There was a bunch of guys around there that were like, 'Holy s---. I can't believe you actually stopped that [swing]," Koepka said. "... He would have been dead. It was perfect timing."
Koepka, the defending U.S. Open champion, never thought about withdrawing with the wrist injury, not even when he was struggling to warm up on the range before his Thursday morning tee time at The Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.
"I've fought through the [wrist injury] for three months," Kopeka said after shooting a 2-under 70. "I'm just not going to quit. I felt like when I was going to the tee, I felt like I could win the golf tournament. If I don't feel like I can win, I'm not going to tee it up."
Koepka's left wrist began bothering him in December, and doctors eventually diagnosed a partially torn tendon.
The injury has limited him to three events in 2018. He didn't play at all in February or March and returned to the tour two weeks ago at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans, where he missed the cut after shooting a 78 in the second round.
Koepka finished tied for 42nd in last week's Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, and headed to The Players feeling pretty good -- until Wednesday afternoon.
He said he is going to spend the rest of Thursday icing his wrist to be ready for Friday's 1:30 p.m. ET tee time.
"It's sore," Koepka said. "It doesn't feel good. It took a long time to warm up. I guess it's a little looser now than it was starting the day."
