KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — Brooks Koepka wore a hat on Thursday that looked as if it had been assembled with reckless haste. And perhaps in the dark, too.
But the hat may be the best sign that the stubbornly defiant Koepka of old was back. Strutting across the intimidating Ocean Course at Kiawah Island in the first round of the P.G.A. Championship, he tugged on a cap that demanded attention.
When it elicited stares, Koepka responded with a glare that said: “What are you looking at?”
The air of rebellious confidence seemed to help. While the windswept Ocean Course belittled much of the field — Bryson DeChambeau called it “the most difficult golf course I’ve played” — Koepka made a run up the leaderboard with six birdies that offset a few stumbles for a round of 69 that had him in the early hunt for his fifth major championship.