Brooks Koepka, when asked Tuesday about the ongoing PGA Tour-LIV fight, answered each question in a manner that would make a swing coach proud.
He was consistent.
When it came to “politics” during a press conference two days ahead of Koepka’s first PGA Tour start since the announcement earlier this month that he was rejoining the circuit he left for a four-season stint with LIV, Koepka repeatedly didn’t part with much.
Reporter: Should the PGA Tour invite back more players from LIV?
Koepka: “I’m two days back into this. I’m not trying to get into the politics of it all. I’m just happy that I have this opportunity and I need to take advantage of it. That’s all I’m really focused on and going back and playing golf.”
Reporter: Can the PGA Tour and LIV battle be settled?
Koepka: “I have no clue. I’ve not been a part of the conversations on either side. It’s out of my hands and my job is to go play golf and tee it up on Thursday.”
It’s then, during the Farmers Insurance Open first round, that the four-major winner’s return will be complete. On Dec. 23, LIV and Koepka announced that he was exiting the league he joined in 2022 — and on Jan. 12, the PGA Tour said Koepka was returning via the newly created “Returning Member Program,” a policy that’s also open to three other LIV players (Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith) through their major championship wins over the past four years.
On Tuesday, Koepka said his family life was one of the biggest factors in his decision. And that was part of his response when he was asked whether anyone on LIV had reached out to him to discuss his return process.
“Nobody’s picked my brain,” Koepka said. “I’ve got a few text messages from guys that are still on LIV, they’re reaching out. I think they understood the situation for what we were going through with my family, whether the wives have communication there. So I think everybody fully understands the situation that we were in maybe more than everybody else. I don’t know how much has been actually publicized.
“Yeah, they understood that and they just wished me the best and to always do what’s best for you.”
Those players, he said, will also be what he misses most about LIV.
“I think maybe just being around the guys, right, because we’re not — everybody’s not around each other all the time,” Koepka said. “We’re all one big traveling circus, right? That’s kind of what it is. It’s fun and I’m going to miss some of those guys, seeing those guys pretty much week to week out there. The relationships I’ve built with those guys and not seeing them all the time, that will be quite different.
