Brooks Koepka’s return and what it means for the PGA Tour

LA JOLLA, Calif. — The last time Brooks Koepka walked the narrow fairways at Torrey Pines at the 2021 U.S. Open, the golf world was whole.

Koepka was ranked 10th in the world then, had just finished runner-up at the PGA Championship (his 10th top-10 finish in a major in his past 15 appearances) and boasted the fourth-best odds to win that week. His aura was unmistakable then — he had four majors to his name and had engineered a reputation for himself that exuded a kind of cool carelessness matched only by his effortless confidence on the sport’s biggest stages. He wasn’t afraid to let you in on it, either.

“I think sometimes the majors are the easiest ones to win,” Koepka said in 2019. “Half the people shoot themselves out of it, and mentally I know I can beat most of them.”

Watch Koepka and the rest of the golf from Torrey Pines on ESPN and ESPN+

On Tuesday at Torrey Pines, nearly five years since that U.S. Open, still sporting Nike clothing but now under the PGA Tour banner — not LIV’s — once again, a different Koepka surfaced. He was mild-mannered and sheepish, grateful for the opportunity to return yet not exactly an open book having crossed the picket fence in professional golf’s chasm yet again.

“I’m definitely a little bit more nervous this week,” Koepka said. “There’s a lot of guys I don’t know.”

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It would be easy to ascribe the demeanor to where he now stands in the game. Koepka is the 255th-ranked player in the world, according to the Official World Golf Ranking (LIV does not receive OWGR points), and 162nd, per Data Golf. He has five missed cuts in his past eight non-LIV appearances, including three missed cuts at majors last year. That quintessential Koepka confidence might still be there, but for now, it’s on the back burner.

Recent form aside, Koepka is one of the names who, if not moves the needle, at least makes it vibrate. The tour’s response to his desire to return was a reminder of that.

Koepka wasn’t just added to the Farmers Open field, his return has been touted loudly by the tour’s social media channels. Its slogan for this season, “Where the Best Belong,” was quickly cut into a promo that featured Koepka. He was put in a featured group, and the tour mobilized to get ESPN on board with broadcasting his first two rounds on the main network.

“It’s always good to feel wanted and to be accepted,” Koepka said. “I’m excited just to — maybe a little bit antsy to get to Thursday just so I can get back to playing golf, and that’s where I feel the most comfortable.”

Away from the podium, Koepka looked relaxed to finally get to focus on something that has needled him lately: his game. He grinded on the range, welcoming greetings, hugs and well-wishes from players as he worked with his caddie and coach on his swing. On Tuesday, he played the front nine at Torrey North walking alongside Fred Couples, who said in March that Koepka wanted back on the PGA Tour.

This week, Koepka’s performance on the course is ancillary. His presence alone constitutes a win for the new-look PGA Tour under CEO Brian Rolapp that was only cemented further Wednesday upon the announcement of Patrick Reed’s own return to the PGA Tour.

“I think people want to be on the PGA Tour. It’s the best tour in the world, the most competitive tour,” J.J. Spaun said. “I think Patrick will be a good asset to this tour, and I think it just speaks volumes to where the tour’s headed.”

If fast-tracking Koepka back to play was the tour giving LIV a bit of its own medicine, the addition of Reed and its implications is arguably a bigger hit. For Koepka, the tour was willing to bend the rules in order to provide immediate access. For Reed, it didn’t need to.

“After winning [in Dubai], I realized just how much I missed the grind and the dogfight, that’s who I am,” Reed told ESPN. “I always saw myself coming back to the PGA Tour. I know I have to earn my way back, and I’m OK with that.”

Under Rolapp so far, it is clear that the directive — the mandate, even — is that the top priority for the tour will be to do whatever it can to strengthen itself. Any bad blood, grudges and resentments about the players who fled for LIV don’t hold as much as weight as being able to strengthen the tour by featuring the sport’s best players.

By allowing Koepka to return immediately and facilitating the reinstatement of Reed, the tour has effectively shifted the focus from the never-ending question of whether the two tours will find a way to work together to a different one altogether: Who will be the next player to try to return to the PGA Tour?

“As you’re seeing, the dominoes are starting to fall, maybe those guys on the LIV tour are not that happy out there and the grass is not greener on the other side,” Harris English said. “They’re seeing the PGA Tour getting stronger and having more success, and kind of seeing that money’s not the end all, be all. Like that doesn’t fulfill them. It doesn’t fulfill me. They’re still competitors, they’re competitive people and they love playing in the biggest events against the best players in the world. For me, that’s out here on the PGA Tour, and I think they’re starting to realize that, that that’s what fulfills them.”

Whether concerted, opportunistic or both, the tour is playing offense under Rolapp now and even taking advantage of LIV’s own structure. With LIV’s players under contracts, some like Reed have effectively become free agents once those expire, allowing the tour to make use of a pathway back but not without taking its pound of flesh in the form of a suspension and no player equity eligibility through 2030.

Whether that’s enough for some of the players who stayed remains to be seen.

“For players, it’s a sensitive topic,” Adam Scott, a player director on the PGA Tour policy board, said. “We’re definitely first conscious of the entire membership, but also we are listening to what the people want to see at the PGA Tour as well. We’ve got to look at what’s best for the tour and the membership going forward. So not everything can hold firm forever, and we have to remain open-minded.”

Scott said the decision to create the returning member program and allow Koepka back in immediately was “unanimous across the board.” Maverick McNealy added that although the current player advisory council was not involved in the Koepka decision, Rolapp held a special session with the members to loop them in and ensure everyone was on the same page.

On Wednesday, as the news of Reed’s impending return to the tour was being discussed across the grounds, Rolapp spent ample time at the driving range and putting green speaking with players. At least publicly, every player interviewed seemed to have a positive view of both Reed and Koepka returning.

​​”I think that’s one of his strengths is he’s a very clear communicator and due diligence was done on this decision and all avenues explored,” McNealy said of Rolapp. “Ultimately, we hire Brian to make the best decision for the PGA Tour and he has. Go back a couple years, think about how really cutthroat it was with LIV and how there was a time when we were wondering whether our tour’s future was secure. And I think we’re all absolutely thrilled that this really feels like the place to play the highest level of golf. I think that’s what’s happened the last couple of weeks.”