Brooks Koepka Leaving PGA Tour for LIV Golf
Brooks Koepka is leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf. Yes, it’s happening. But should we really be surprised? I don’t think so. Brooks has always been outspoken about how he feels about the sport. He’s called it boring and even has an incredible quote about his practice efforts, saying “I just practice before the majors,” he said before the 2019 Open Championship. “Regular tournaments I don’t practice. If you’ve seen me on TV, that’s when I play golf.”
So in reality, the fact he wants to go play for LIV Golf makes plenty of sense from a pure golf perspective. They play just 8 events from the beginning of June until the end of October and the format is a full 18-holes less of golf as it’s 54 as opposed to 72.
If this move still doesn’t make sense to you then how does doing less work for more money sound? It’s being reported and to me expected that Koepka will see a $150 million paycheck from this LIV Golf contract. Similar to the one’s Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau have signed.
Koepka is the type of personality that doesn’t really give a damn about what people think of him. He doesn’t feel any allegiance to the PGA Tour or his fellow competitors. So being able to play less golf and make a ton of money with LIV Golf while still being able to play in golf’s major tournaments probably felt like a no brainer to him.
Brooks Koepka is in the Travelers Championship field. Players going to LIV Golf haven’t been suspended by the PGA Tour previously until they’ve actually hit a shot. Certainly a possibility he could sign today and still play this week. Bonkers.
— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelTAN) June 21, 2022
The problem will all this is the obvious part where the LIV Golf money is coming from, a Saudi backed investment fund with an appalling human rights history. Which is likely going to keep this golf tour from really gaining traction and long term sustainability. But they’ve clearly started to build a respectable cast of pros with Koepka, Johnson, DeChambeau, as well as Phil Mickelson and Patrick Reed.
The move from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf for Koepka is no doubt significant and quite frankly a slimy one for the four time major champion. Even though he blamed the media for “putting a black cloud” over this past weekends US Open, it’s clear this move was on his mind for some time before today. Even though he told the world otherwise during the week.
"Y'all are throwing a black cloud over the U.S. Open, and I think that sucks."
Brooks Koepka was getting a little annoyed with all the questions about the LIV Golf Series. pic.twitter.com/efRtTldE0D
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 14, 2022
You’d be foolish to think that the timing of this wasn’t planned out. He let the guys like Reed, DeChambeau, Mickelson and many others wear the brunt of the criticism at the opening event prior to the US Open during media availability. With a month until the next major championship this was a chance for the backlash to settle down some.
Brooks isn’t going to avoid the litany of media questions coming his way either at the LIV Golf event next week in Portland or at the Open Championship at St. Andrews in July. But this is no doubt a hilarious look for a guy that said this two years ago: “If somebody gave me $200 million tomorrow it’s not going to change my life. What am I going to get out of it? I already have [enough money] that I could retire right now, but I don’t want to. I just want to play golf.”
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