Koepka living large at Masters, leads with Rahm and Hovland

AUGUSTA, Georgia: Brooks Koepka carved out a new identity that sure looked familiar Thursday in the Masters.

This wasn’t about his surprising defection last year to LIV Golf, or even his victory four days ago that made him the Saudi-funded circuit’s first multiple winner. He just looked like “Big Game Brooks,” the player who built a reputation for playing his best in the majors. Koepka was in full flight in the opening round at Augusta National, and he had company. He birdied his last two holes for a 7-under 65, giving him a share of the lead with Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland. Koepka couldn’t stoop to read putts two years ago at the Masters when he tried to return from knee surgery in three weeks. He felt so hobbled last year he had reason to believe his run in the majors — four wins over three years — was about to be a memory. He is getting his swagger back. “Once you feel good, everything changes,” Koepka said. As for Rahm, he never went away. Never mind that he dropped from a sure-fire No. 1 in the world to No. 3 in the span of a month. The Spaniard overcame a four-putt double bogey on the opening hole with a sublime display of shotmaking. Hovland played bogey-free to join them atop a leaderboard filled with red numbers and the ominous “weather warning” signs that figure to play a big role this week. A bad forecast has been talked about almost as much as how 18 players from Saudi-backed LIV Golf would perform amid the high-stakes pressure of a major over 72 holes with a cut. Koepka carried the flag, though he was more thrilled with having healthy legs. Rahm had a cool head. He took four putts from 40 feet, and on his way to the second tee thought of the famous quote from his Spanish idol, Seve Ballesteros, who once