Brooks Koepka at the Farmers Insurance Open on Tuesday.Getty Images
Asked Tuesday about the ongoing battle between the PGA Tour and LIV, Brooks Koepka answered each question in a manner that would make any swing coach proud.
He was consistent.
Koepka was reticent when it came to politics at a press conference two days before his first PGA Tour start since announcing earlier this month that he would sign a four-season contract with LIV and return to the circuit he left behind.
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Reporter: Should the PGA Tour invite more players from LIV?
Koepka: “I’m back on this for the second time in two days. I’m not trying to get into all the politics. I’m happy to have this opportunity and I need to take advantage of it. That’s all I’m really focused on is getting back and playing golf.”
Reporter: Will the battle between the PGA Tour and LIV be settled?
Koepka: “I have no clue. I’m not part of the conversation on either side. It’s out of my hands and my job is to go play golf and tee it up on Thursday.”
On December 23, LIV and Koepka announced that Koepka would be withdrawing from the league he participated in in 2022. Then, on January 12, the PGA Tour announced that Koepka would be reinstated through the newly created Returning Member Program. It’s a policy that has been accepted by other LIV players who have won major championships in the past four years (Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Cameron Smith).
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Koepka said Tuesday that family life was one of the biggest factors in his decision. And that was part of his answer when asked if anyone at LIV has contacted him to consult about his reinstatement process.
“Nobody chose my brain,” Koepka said. “I’ve gotten some text messages from people who are still on LIV and they’re reaching out to me. I think they understood the situation, what we were going through with our families, whether we were able to communicate with our wives. So I think everyone has a full understanding of the situation we’re in, probably more than others. I don’t know how much has actually been made public.”
“Yes, they understood that and wished me well and always wanted what was best for you.”
These players are what he will miss most about LIV, he said.
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“I think it’s probably just being with everybody, yeah, we’re not, so everybody’s not always close to each other,” Koepka said. “We’re all one big traveling circus, right? That’s what it is. It’s fun and I’m going to miss some of them because I get to see them every week. It’s going to be a whole different thing than the relationships I’ve built with them and not seeing them all the time.”
“But at the same time, there are a lot of people here that I haven’t seen in four years and I haven’t been around them a lot, so I’m excited about that as well.”
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Koepka was also asked about his recent swoon in the majors and whether LIV’s schedule had an impact on that.
Since 2023, LIV has held 14 events per year. Below are Koepka’s major finishes during that period.
–2023: Tied for 2nd (Masters), Tied for 1st (PGA Championship, fifth major title), Tied for 17th (US Open), Tied for 64th (British Open Championship)
–2024: Tied for 45th (Masters), Tied for 26th (PGA Championship), Tied for 26th (US Open), Tied for 43rd (British Open Championship)
–2025: Missed cut (Masters), Missed cut (PGA Championship), Tie for 12th (US Open), Missed cut (British Open Championship)
“Preparation has nothing to do with it,” Koepka said. “If you don’t play well in those few weeks, I mean, it’s hard for a No. 1 to qualify in a major, and then it’s very hard to win one. Everything has to go your way, the bounce has to be right, and you have to have some luck as well.
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“If I’m just not playing, I mean I didn’t play well last year. I probably didn’t play as well at the end of ’24. So it’s hard, I’m not going to make excuses other than I’m the one holding the club. I have to do everything and I just didn’t do a good enough job.”
Brooks Koepka’s answer to the PGA Tour-LIV battle?There was one theme that first appeared in golf.
