Brooks Koepka has missed out on a maiden appearance in a PGA Tour Signature Event at the RBC Heritage.
The five-time Major winner was a first alternate for the event, and would have been given a place in the 82-player field had there been a late withdrawal at Harbour Town.
Koepka was pictured on-site on Thursday in anticipation of that possibility, but when the final group of Max Homa and Sudarshan Yellamaraju teed off at 2.10pm ET for their opening round, his chance disappeared.
Koepka rejoined the PGA Tour via its Returning Member Program, which came with certain conditions.
Playing the waiting game 👀As first alternate, if Brooks Koepka gets in, Keith Mitchell and Taylor Moore would also get in per the Returning Member Program. pic.twitter.com/HhkfaOHmnxApril 16, 2026
One was that, while he was able to make an immediate return to full-field tournaments, he wouldn’t be eligible for sponsor’s exemptions into Signature Events.
That left him needing to earn his way into them via the – Aon Next 10, Aon Swing 5, winning a tournament or reaching the world’s top 30.
Though Koepka has made several PGA Tour starts since his return, he is yet to win an event, while he’s not currently in the world’s top 30.
Koepka, who was also spotted chatting to star of US reality TV show Southern Charm on Wednesday at the course, wasn’t among the names in the Aon Swing 5 following its last eligible event before the RBC Heritage, the Valero Texas Open, which just left the Aon Next 10.
Brooks Koepka was seen with Austen Kroll at the course the day before the opening round
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Everyone between 11th and 19th is in the field, with Michael Thorbjornsen the last of those to get the nod after Justin Rose’s withdrawal earlier in the week.
With Koepka 20th on the list and therefore next in line to play, it left the tantalizing possibility of his first start in one of the big $20m events with just one more withdrawal.
Had there been a withdrawal and Koepka had started, it would have also given places to Keith Mitchell and Taylor Moore, per the conditions of the Returning Member Program.
However, without a last-minute withdrawal, it left all three missing…
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