Brooks Koepka says he is getting himself in the zone to defend his US PGA Championship next week.

The US star won the tournament in August last season at Bellerive Country Club in Missouri – his third major triumph in an already glittering career for the 29-year-old.

His form this season has hinted at further major success, narrowly losing out to Tiger Woods in the Masters at Augusta, as he looks to add to last year’s US PGA Championship triumph as well as his two US Open titles.

Koepka prefers to play the week before a major to get himself ready for the showpiece events, with the US PGA Championship moved from August to May to make it the second major of the year in the 2019 golf calendar.

He is set to challenge for the AT&T Byron Nelson in Texas this week before defending his title, and Koepka says he likes to enter majors with plenty of competitive action under his belt.

“I think Augusta is the only one I don’t do it,” Koepka told reporters. “The rest of them I like to play the week before.” “You don’t need to play that great.

“I like building a little bit of rhythm, finding your game, figuring out how to score, to manage your game.”

The AT&T Byron Nelson gets underway on Thursday, and Koepka is favourite at 7.50, with Hideki Matsuyama next in the market at 15.00. He is available at 13.0 to win the US PGA Championship, with Masters hero Tigers Woods the favourite at 10.00.