Heading into The Masters, a lot has been made about the reception that LIV golfers will receive when they tee it up in the first Major of the year. Certainly, since a number of players jumped ship to the Saudi-backed series, relationships by those on the PGA Tour and LIV Golf circuit have been affected, but some haven’t, as was the case with Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka on Tuesday.
Playing a practice round together at Augusta National, Koepka revealed that, following his LIV Orlando victory on Sunday, McIlroy in fact texted the American to congratulate him on his one shot victory.
McIlroy and Koepka play a practice round during the 2023 Masters
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Koepka announced: “He (McIlroy) texted me congrats on Sunday, then I asked him if he wanted to play (at Augusta National). We had that scheduled. It wasn’t just a random show up on the tee.”
The four-time Major winner added “I mean, I think everybody forgets that we see each other in off weeks and play with each other and talk with each other. There’s an open line of communication there between me and him. I think we’re both pretty honest in where we’re at.”
Prior to the tournament in Orlando, Koepka also backed up his claims from Tuesday’s press conference, with the American stating, at the time, that he saw McIlroy before the third LIV tournament of 2023. “We see each other quite a bit,” stated Koepka at LIV’s press conference. “I was talking with Rory for probably about 30 minutes just about the ball and all the other stuff that’s going on. No one is angry at anybody from what I’ve seen.”
It’s no secret that McIlroy has been outspoken about the LIV Golf League. Back in February 2022, at the Genesis Invitational, he said that the league was “dead in the water”, before the Northern Irishman became somewhat of a spokesperson for the PGA Tour, admitting that the proposed changes on the PGA Tour to limited-field, no-cut events have been brought about thanks to LIV Golf exploiting some weaknesses in the previous framework.
However, multiple players have said that the PGA Tour vs LIV drama will be put to one side this week for The Masters, with it being all eyes on business when the tournament gets underway on Thursday.
Speaking about their practice round on Tuesday, Koepka stated that: “It’s more just two friends wanting to play together. I guess you could look at it that way. But yeah, I just wanted to play with him, just compare my game. I know…
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