Well before Brooks Koepka captured back-to-back U.S. Open titles … and won back-to-back PGA Championships … and earned generational wealth by jumping to LIV Golf, he was a 24-year-old fighting to claim his first PGA Tour title.

That’s when Koepka and the Phoenix Open became intertwined forever. Koepka collected his first PGA Tour victory in 2015 at TPC Scottsdale, which set the stage for his five major championships and his rise to No. 1 in the World Golf Rank.

Koepka, 35, has returned to the Phoenix Open field for the first time in four years as he reacquaints himself with old haunts in the wake of his recent split with LIV Golf.

During his years away, did he yearn to tune in to the Phoenix Open and its frenzied fans? Uh, not exactly.

“No, I was asleep when this was going on,” said Koepka, who’d be halfway around the world. “Kind of tough to watch.

“But, yeah, it’s a golf course I really like, a tournament I like coming to. I think this is always a comfortable event for me.”

The muscle memory associated with Koepka’s pair of Phoenix Open crowns — he also won in 2021 – ought to be valuable this week. Not just remembering where to place the ball as he whips around TPC Scottsdale, but recalling the joy of interacting with the raucous galleries.

“I said it earlier, I think last week, I enjoy the chaos,” Koepka said. “It’s fun. It can kind of get you in between shots. Gives you something to either kind of laugh at or whatever’s going on, there’s always something to see. But, yeah, it’s a fun week.”

This marks just his second tournament since being reinstated by the Tour. Two weeks ago, Koepka finished in a tie for 56th at the Farmers Insurance Open.

While his driving average (306.0 yards) and his short game around the green rank among the Tour’s best in the early going this season, his putting ranks 172nd on Tour as he’s losing 2.4 strokes per round compared to the norm.

“I’ve been putting pretty poorly for the good side of two years,” Koepka said. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ve got to figure it out.”

–Field Level Media

Oluchi Okananwa scored 23 points to lead No. 22 Maryland to an emphatic 86-70 road win over No. 12 Michigan State on Wednesday in East Lansing, Michigan.

The Terrapins (18-6, 6-6 Big Ten Conference) went on a 21-5 tear in the second quarter that included an 8-0 run, building a double-digit-point lead that buoyed the Terps for much of the second half.

The Spartans (19-4, 8-4) cut a 10-point halftime deficit to six early in the third quarter, but Maryland responded with an 11-2 run that gave the Terps a cushion the rest of the way. Okananwa led five Maryland scorers in double figures, with Yarden Garzon adding 16 points while playing all 40 minutes.

Saylor Poffenbarger added 13 points, and reserves Kyndal Walker and Mir McLean scored 14 and 10 points off the bench. Grace VanSlooten led Michigan State with 19 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

No. 15 Baylor 76, Cincinnati 70

Taliah Scott’s 26 points helped the Bears avoid a stunning upset on the road in Big 12 Conference play versus the Bearcats.

Baylor (20-4, 9-2 Big 12) led a Cincinnati team languishing near the bottom of the league standings by just two points early in the fourth quarter, but Scott found Darianna Littlepage-Buggs for a basket and then connected on a 3-pointer to help launch an 11-5 spurt for the Bears.

Scott’s 5-of-11 3-point shooting made a huge difference for the Bears, as Cincinnati (8-15, 3-8) connected on more field goals as a team (26-of-60 to Baylor’s 23-of-63). However, the Bearcats managed just 6-of-18 shooting from deep.

Mya Perry scored 20 points for Cincinnati.

No. 8 Michigan 88, Nebraska 76

Olivia Olson delivered a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double, and Syla Sword poured in 28 points as the Wolverines ran past the Cornhuskers in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The Wolverines (20-3, 11-1 Big Ten) rallied from a narrow halftime deficit, but not before Nebraska (16-7, 5-7) scored the first two hoops after intermission. The two went back-and-forth until Michigan broke a 62-62 stalemate with a 9-2 run that stretched into the final period.

The Wolverines put the Huskers away for good with another 9-2 spurt to close out the game, holding Nebraska without a point for a stretch lasting almost three minutes.

Amiah Hargrove and Britt Prince led the Huskers with 16 points apiece in the loss.

–Field Level Media

Jet Greaves made 21 saves for Columbus’ second consecutive shutout in their 4-0 win over visiting Chicago on Wednesday night.

It was the final game before the Olympic break for both teams.

The Blue Jackets shut out the New Jersey Devils 3-0 in Newark on Monday night behind Elvis Merzlikins. Greaves got the fourth shutout of his career and second of the season on Wednesday.

Columbus has not allowed a goal in 146:25 of game time.

Defensemen Zach Werenski and Ivan Provorov, Danton Heinen and Sean Monahan scored for the Blue Jackets, who won their seventh straight and have 11 wins in their last 12. Charlie Coyle had two assists.

Spencer Knight stopped 16 shots for the Blackhawks, who lost for the sixth time in seven games (1-4-2).

Goals by defensemen gave the Blue Jackets a 2-0 lead in the first period.

Werenski got his 20th, 4:46 into the game when his shot from the bottom of the left circle off the rush deflected in off the skates of both Blackhawks’ defensemen, Louis Crevier and Alex Vlasic.

Provorov scored with 7:10 left in the opening period on another shot from the bottom of the left circle. It came just seconds after Chicago’s Ryan Donato leveled Columbus’ Mason Marchment, who got the second assist, with a check at the top of the left circle.

Heinen made it 3-0, 2:55 into the second period to capitalize on a turnover by the Blackhawk’s Nick Foligno in his own zone. Heinen also beat Knight from the bottom of the left circle.

Monahan added an empty-net goal with 4:27 left.

Chicago defenseman Wyatt Kaiser left with a lower-body injury after Werenski was checked awkwardly into Kaiser’s leg a little over seven minutes into the first period. That left Chicago with five defensemen for the remainder of the contest.

The Blackhawks’ Colton Dach left the contest early in the second period with an undisclosed injury.

The Blue Jackets’ Kirill Marchenko missed his second game with an illness.

-Field Level Media