What a difference a day makes.

And some small changes by Brooks Koepka, which helped with a big turnaround on the scorecard.

Koepka will very likely make his second cut in three starts since returning to the PGA TOUR after a 5-under 66 in the second round of the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches – a tidy bounce-back after an opening-round 74.

Koepka sat 111th in Strokes Gained: Putting on Thursday at PGA National, but in the early afternoon of Friday, he was second in that same statistic, gaining nearly four shots on the field with the putter.

“Made a few adjustments after the round yesterday,” Koepka said. “We spent probably about 15 minutes talking about it and then probably 30 minutes' worth of work.

“We changed my mechanics, so I'm going with the feel of what feels good.”

Koepka said specifically he was working on his hand position in his setup. He admitted the way his hands were placed created an “inconsistent feel” on Thursday. It was a quick – and small – adjustment, but it paid big dividends Friday.

His 66 marked his lowest score in eight rounds this season on TOUR.

Koepka was dialled in for his opening nine, making three birdies in his first four holes and adding two more on Nos. 16 and 18 to shoot a 5-under 31. He stalled slightly after making the turn, making just one birdie on the par-4 4th and giving it back on No. 8 after his second shot “jumped” on him and ended up in a tricky spot in the back of the green.

He was able to lean on the work he did Thursday evening with the putter, however, to put together a clean enough card in the second round.

“I was just cheating it yesterday, so at setup, my hands (on the putter) were too far back, so that was the only thing. Once I got them forward, I felt like I really saw the line a lot better and could see where visually it's got to take off on the right line,” Koepka said. “They weren't matching yesterday.”

Since Koepka’s return to the TOUR, he’s had a mixed bag of results. He found the weekend at the Farmers Insurance Open and finished tied for 56th but shot 75-69 at the WM Phoenix Open (where he won in 2015 and 2021) to miss the cut.

After this week, Koepka is also set to play both THE PLAYERS Championship and the Valspar Championship to round out the Florida swing.

Koepka’s best result at PGA National came in 2019 when he finished tied for second.

Joe Highsmith, the defending champion at the Cognizant Classic, famously made the cut on the number last year before climbing the leaderboard all the way to the top over Saturday and Sunday. So, Koepka knows, the precedent has been set that a weekend run could be in the cards.

“I just need to play like I did the first day and then putt like I did today,” Koepka said with a small smile. “I have a feeling the putting will come around. But just been hitting it really good. Nice to see a red number.

“Just need to play good. Just go throw two rounds together that are pretty solid, play well, and see where it puts me.”