CROMWELL, Conn. – Brooks Koepka probably won't go to the gym Saturday. That’s how tired he is.

“I’m dead. I’m fried,” Koepka said after a 2-over 72 Saturday at the Travelers Championship. “My body is starting to ache, too.”

Koepka has one round left to play at TPC River Highlands, but he doesn’t sound like he has much left to offer. The world No. 1 was bested by his playing partner – Monday qualifier and No. 805 Chip McDaniel – by four shots in the third round.

“Nice kid. Good player,” Koepka said. “I know he's played, what, five, four events out here? Five events. Good player. He'll figure it out.”

The Travelers is Koepka’s third start in as many weeks, following a pre-major tuneup at the RBC Canadian Open and a runner-up finish last week at the U.S. Open.

Koepka said Wednesday that he and caddie Ricky Elliott intended to play this event with a major-like level of intensity, but fatigue has made it “hard to focus.”

Sounding a bit like Tiger Woods after the Masters, Koepka indicated Saturday that he’s still reeling from his last major victory.

“I'm just pretty – I don't think I'm even over the PGA,” he said. “And then to exert all your energy there last week, just fried. I mean, I've caught myself yawning on the golf course. I don't think I've ever yawned on a golf course before.”

In fairness, Koepka has yawned before – in a way that was weirdly perfect – but it’s clear that last week’s run at a third consecutive U.S. Open title took a lot of him.

Asked why he made the cross-country trip here after Pebble, Koepka said he wanted to honor his commitment and that he couldn’t have known in advance he would be this drained. Considering the reason, he’s happy to feel fatigued.

“When you're planning your schedule, you're not thinking you're going to compete in all three majors and still be fried from it,” he said. “It's fine. I don't mind it. ...

“It comes from the majors. It comes from being dead from playing so well. [I’m] mentally drained from playing in a major. It happens to everybody. If you're in contention you're going to be drained; if you're not in contention, it's a lot easier.”

Koepka is scheduled to take one week off and then return to action at the 3M Open. After the Minnesota stop, he’ll start prepping for the year’s final major. He said Wednesday that he plans to head to The Open Championship a few days early, as he's done in the past, to “get some work in” and “get acclimated.”

But he’s taking the rest of Saturday off.

“I’m still doing my thing. … I'm still going to the gym every day,” he said. “I think today might be a day off. Everything is aching. I feel like an old man today. ...

“Be nice to put my feet up and just relax the rest of the day. Probably go take a nap.”