Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young and the world’s best players are in Charlotte this week, ready to hit the road for Truist Championship with a $20 million purse on the line. And 175 miles away, Brooks Koepka is in Myrtle Beach, a reverse-court event, playing for a purse only one-fifth that size.
Don’t feel too bad for the guys at the Myrtle Beach Classic, where a win is still worth 300 FedExCup points and a two-year exemption from the PGA Tour. But it’s worth noting Koepka actually THERE a short time this week, a feat that hasn’t been a guarantee lately. The Myrtle Beach Classic will be his first individual stroke event since the Masters (he also played the Zurich Classic) — though not for lack of trying.
At Harbor Town for the RBC Heritage, Koepka expected to come on as a substitute, but his name was never called. The same thing happened last week at the Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral, but again, no dice.
“When you’re sitting on Wednesday and Thursday and you’re practicing, you’re watching everybody else play, it’s not as much fun,” Koepka said Wednesday from Dunes Golf and Beach Club in South Carolina. “I just need to play. I don’t care where I play as long as I get a chance to play out here; I’m extremely excited and grateful for the opportunity.”
That’s life for Koepka, who returned to the PGA Tour this year through the Returning Member Program after 3 1/2 years at LIV Golf. His World Ranking suffered while in LIV – the league did not receive points until this season – and according to his agreement he is not allowed to accept sponsors’ invitations to Signature Events. Instead, he has to rely on good play and improving his ranking to get in.
“Listen, the way I look at it is I’m sorry to go in, but I’m accepting where I’m at and I understand that there are prices to pay to get back, and I’m willing to accept them and whatever I have to do,” Koepka said. “I knew this year was going to be challenging even going into (Signature Events). I thought about maybe the US Open, but knowing I’m knocking on the door now is a good thing. Just the answer to everything is to play better, and you’re in.”
Koepka THERE played well this year. He has halved his FedEx Cup ranking (63) and world ranking (127) in four months. He has finished in the top 20 four times and had strong showings at the Players Championship (T13) and the Masters (T12).
He is 36th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and third in Approach, which has helped offset a struggling putt (141).
“I feel like I played better than my scores,” Koepka said. “I knew the first two weeks were going to be an adjustment. Then there’s an adjustment in the way the golf courses are set up as well. So we have to figure that out and go through and figure some things out, it’s just different. Then, coming back, the first two weeks were a little more jitters than anything. Then it’s just a matter of getting comfortable with the golf courses, seeing how strong things are playing. Otherwise there’s a little bit of an adjustment there.”
On the shores of Trump National DC, members of LIV Golf are talking about the uncertain future of their league and their future as players. Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton said Tuesday they still have there are a few years left in their contracts. Bryson DeChambeau said he hasn’t ruled it out golf on YouTube. Meanwhile, Koepka is already out of the league and knows what his future holds.
On Wednesday, he said the word “opportunity” four times. He hopes to get the most out of them, and he will have more. After this week, he heads to Pennsylvania for the PGA Championship, a tournament he has won three times. Then it’s off to Texas for the CJ Cup.
“Coming back, I’ve said it before or earlier in the year, I want to get back to being the best player I can be and try to give myself opportunities to see those dreams come true,” Koepka said. “Whether they come true or not, who knows? But I’ll give it my all for at least the next 10 years.”
