adminPALM BEACH. – He is the big fish and Brooks Koepka is going to get millions of dollars.
He has left the PGA Tour to become the poster boy of Greg Norman’s LIV Golf Series.
Koepka, at 32, is a big get for the Saudi-backed series searching for credibility and attention, one whose events are shown on YouTube because it does not have a television deal.
LIV’s first event two weeks ago in London featured just two golfers who move the needle, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson. Add Bryson DeChambeau and Koepka for next week’s event at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club outside of Portland, Oregon, and now it has four.
But none of that matters to the 20 or so players who have defected from the PGA Tour and others who are struggling to find their footing in the world of professional golf.
All that matters are the checks hitting their accounts.
Everyone from Palm Beach Gardens’ Charl Schwartzel, who won $4.75 million for winning the individual title and being a part of the winning team in London; to Andy Ogletree, who took home $120,000 in prize money for shooting 24-over and finishing last in the 48-man-field, is in LIV for one reason.
In two decades as a pro, Schwartzel never won $3 million in a year, including 2011 when he won the Masters. Ogletree’s career earnings in four years of playing tour events is $38,186.
Koepka’s decision certainly has to do with adding to that $38 million he’s earned in prize money, plus millions more off the course, in his career.
It also gives us a peek into the mind of a golfer who at one time was considered among golf’s royalty, held the No. 1 ranking in the world for 47 weeks and was as feared as anyone not named Tiger Woods in recent history when it comes to the majors.
Now, Koepka has done something completely opposite of what he had become known for on golf’s biggest stages – a steely, laser-like focused, ultra-competitive champion.
He has run from the competition.
Injuries certainly have played a factor in his struggles, but he’s been dealing with those – whether it be his wrist, knee, hip – for several years now. Perhaps Koepka just cannot handle his body not allowing him to be a consistent threat on the PGA Tour.
Or perhaps he’s seen a group of talented players in their 20s all about five years younger than Koepka – making their mark in the sport. Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, Sam Burns, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Will Zalatoris all have zoomed past Koepka in the world rankings.
What happened to the Brooks Koepka who said just four months ago it was “embarrassing” to be ranked No. 20 in the world? Currently he is No. 19.
The old Brooks Koepka would have taken on that challenge, pulled out the disrespect card he used so well during his run of four major championships in eight starts, and re-established his status among the best in the world.
Now, Koepka is taking the easy money — he likely is receiving in the neighborhood of $100 million to join the series —to play the next seven LIV events (the series is hoping to expand next year) and whatever other tournaments will welcome LIV golfers.
All this, of course, is his right, but he is the one who has to accept the backlash for joining a league backed by Saudi money. And knowing Koepka as many of us do, he certainly does not care about the blowback.
But Koepka no longer will be playing against the best in the world, with the possible exception of a few majors each year, and even that may be taken away. That, too, he has to accept.
And no one outside of Mickelson has handled this decision worse than Koepka. -Palm Beach Post
Online Reporter