The ‘deep’ question of Brooks Koepka’s career has already been answered

Brooks Koepka was at a loss for words. now makes a strong comeback as a member of the PGA TourKoepka, a five-time major champion and one of the defining players of his generation, faced a big question this week. It was the kind of question only those who have already etched their name in history face, but one Koepka wasn’t sure how to answer as his return to the PGA Tour continues.

What do you want your legacy to be?

“I don’t know,” Koepka said Wednesday at the Cognizant Classic. “I think that’s a very deep question. I don’t know what I want my legacy to be. I don’t think about it. I just try to be the best person, the best player that I can be, and then wherever things go, they go. I just don’t want to look back at the end of my career and say, man, I really could have put more effort into winning 0 percent. a lot of tournaments and being as committed as I can to the game.”

Perhaps on the surface, Koepka doesn’t know what he wants his legacy to be. To think about legacy is to think about mortality, to come to terms with the end, and to imagine a time when you are not who you are and have always been. But athletes whose achievements will reverberate across generations — those who have done things few can claim — often already have a sense of how they will be remembered. They tell us how they work to change or strengthen it. This is why losses and losses often mean more than wins. They are, as Scottie Scheffler pointed out, often temporary.

Koepka’s major wins didn’t come at a young age like they did for Tiger, Rory or Spieth, but once he broke through, one win turned into four straight away. He almost immediately became the great killer of his generation. Four directions it is LOTbut when you win four, everyone starts wondering if you’re going to win eight or nine or 10. Maybe even you. Four majors in three years could be the first line of Koepka’s World Golf Hall of Fame plaque. But his part will be about his persona as the big-game hunter — golf’s elite competitor who showed up at elite tournaments and rose to the occasion when it really mattered.

Injury and poor play in 2022 allowed Koepka to be consumed by doubt. He wasn’t sure if he would be who he once was. it joined LIV Golf and then rebuilt himself. He won the 2023 PGA Championship to eclipse Rory McIlroy’s major total and become the defining major winner of his era (McIlroy has now matched him). Doubts melted away to reveal who Koepka is at his core—someone who, like his childhood idol, Tiger Woods, relishes a fight. The reward is good, but it is all that leads to it; the discipline, endurance and struggle that makes it worthwhile.

“This is probably the sweetest of them all because of all the hard work that went into it,” Koepka said at Oak Hill in 2023.

When Koepka returned to the Farmers Insurance Open, he talked about doing it for his family. He wanted to be closer to them and spend more time with them. He is a father now and it changes you. But he also wants his son to see who his father is and what made him great in the arena that built the legacy he’d rather not think about.

“Just because I care,” Koepka said why was he nervous at Torrey Pines. “I think I fell in love with the game again. And honestly, watching my son play a little bit and wanting to see him watching me, or I think I want him to watch me play well and realize how much this game has given me and how much fun it is and how great it is to be here.”

Koepka has dodged questions about LIV, his future and PGA Tour politics since his return. It would be atypical for him to do otherwise. As always, Koepka’s focus is on his game and where it measures up, especially against Scottie Scheffler and McIlroy, whom Koepka has only faced in majors over the past three years.

“I’m excited to fight with them,” Koepka said. “I think it’s going to be really fun. I think just the competitive side of me, obviously, you obviously want to do a little bit better, but it’s going to be very hard to do better than Scottie right now. I’m excited about it. I want to play with those guys, see where I’m at and how I can improve.”

Koepka doesn’t need to find words to describe what he wants his legacy to be. His actions and game have already answered this question. He is one of only 21 men to achieve five majors. There was a six-year period where he was omnipresent in the events that define the golf season. it left for human reasons and returned for the same. His desire was not to be a trophy or token to either side, but to see if he could once again push himself to the top.

On Thursday in the RecognizerKoepka hit the ball well in windy conditions but missed the green by two shots. He entered Friday off the cut line, but a putter hand adjustment helped him shoot a 4-under 66 to move to within 30 and take a weekend at a course where anything can happen.

Afterwards, Koepka, who has failed to finish in the top 50 in his first two starts on the PGA Tour, was asked if he viewed the battle to make the cut as a small “victory.” Unlike Wednesday, Koepka had no trouble finding the words, offering a glimpse of the old Koepka, the one he’s already shown us how he’ll be remembered.

“No,” he said. “If I’m out here making cuts, I’m probably done.”

But those final chapters are still being written.

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