AUGUSTA, Ga. — Brooks Koepka was in a vulnerable spot when LIV’s Greg Norman offered him more than $100 million of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund about a year ago.
That likely made the decision to say goodbye to the PGA Tour and everything he dreamed of growing up a lot easier. After all, it was around that time that things got so bad for Koepka that he twice attempted to punch out the back window of his vehicle after missing the cut at the Masters.
Fast-forward one year. With Koepka now saying he’s not far off from being the man who dominated major golf for more than a two-year stretch, he may be regretting that decision to join a league in which one of its marquee players, Cameron Smith, admitted the fields are not up to PGA Tour quality.
After shooting a bogey-free 67 on Friday at the Masters, which has him at 12 under on the leaderboard and up three shots when second-round play was suspended entering the weekend, Koepka was asked if the decision to join LIV would have been more challenging had he felt this good a year ago.
“Honestly, yeah, probably, if I’m being completely honest,” Koepka said. “I think it would have been. But I’m happy with the decision I made.”
Masters Leaderboard: Live leaderboard, schedule, tee times
But is he truly happy with that decision?
Because some of his comments reek of regret. Like admitting he misses competing against players such as Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler and those who are in Koepka’s universe when he is playing like he has the first two days at Augusta National.
Because other than Dustin Johnson and Smith, nobody on the LIV tour approaches Koepka when he is at his best.
“I see those guys down at The Grove all the time. I see the guys at Medalist. I see guys just out and about practicing,” said Koepka, who lives in Jupiter, Florida. “I think there’s probably about, what, six of us that live probably within a quarter mile of each other. So we end up running into each other a good bit.
“But it’s just competitively where you miss playing against them. Because you want Rory to play his best and Scottie to play his best and Jon (Rahm) to play his best and go toe-to-toe with them. I do miss that, and that’s one thing that I do miss, and that’s what I think makes these majors so cool.”
A tap-in birdie on No. 15 extends the lead for Brooks Koepka. #themasters pic.twitter.com/Nn7TCRyNFV
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 7, 2023
Koepka certainly is not facing that…
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Golfweek…