Mel Reid jumped out to the early lead on Thursday in the first round of the 2021 US Women's Open.
After a Day 1 67 at The Olympic Club, Reid, who broke through for her first LPGA win last year at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, said she turned to four-time major winner Brooks Koepka for some advice on how best to approach majors.
"I texted Brooks on Tuesday. We had a long conversation and then we FaceTimed for an hour on Tuesday night," Reid said. "He gave me a few things that he follows by in a major, so obviously appreciate his help."
Koepka has detailed some of his thinking about majors over the years, including how he breaks down major fields psychologically. Using the example of the PGA Championship field, which also has 156 players like the US Women's Open, Koepka said in 2019:
"You figure, at least 80 of them, I'm just gonna beat. From there, you figure about half of them won't play well, so you're down to about maybe 35. And then from 35, some of them, just pressure is just going to get to them. That only leaves you with a few more, and you just have to beat those guys. One of the things I've learned the past couple of years is you don't need to win it. You don't need to try and go win it. Just hang around. If you hang around, good things are going to happen."
Perhaps it was a spin on this that Koepka shared with Reid or some other gem, but Reid called it "invaluable."
"That's why I feel like I prepared the best, and with Desi my caddie, he was great today and we both agreed with the same game plan," she said. "I'm just trying to be a bit more like Brooks, honestly."
