Koepka’s win at PGA Championship shows LIV golfers remain a factor at majors

LIV Golf couldn’t have picked a worse spokesperson to stand up in front of the global media with two hands around a major championship trophy.

But make no mistake, after the two men’s majors of this calendar year, the golfers who defected from the PGA Tour and headed to the rival Saudi-backed circuit have proven to be part of the discussion on the biggest stages of the sport — and not just because of what tour they play on.

Brooks Koepka, the captain of the LIV team ‘Smash GC,’ captured his third Wanamaker Trophy Sunday by two shots over Viktor Hovland and world No. 2 Scottie Scheffler. It put him in rarefied air — only five men in the game’s history have won three or more PGA Championships and only two (Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus) have done it in the modern era. Koepka is one of just 20 male golfers to win five majors or more — and he’s just 33.  

There is no taking away from his impressive, all-time, dominating major-championship efforts over the last five years. Especially with how he clawed his way back to the top of golf’s mountain.

“It feels damned good. This one is definitely special,” Koepka said Sunday night, Wanamaker Trophy to his left. “I think this one is probably the most meaningful of them all with everything that’s gone on, all the crazy stuff over the last few years.”

Part of that "crazy stuff" (Koepka suffered from a myriad of injuries since his last major triumph in 2019 and said he felt lost with his swing, too — even admitting he considered retirement if he couldn’t play the way he wanted) though, was taking a rumoured north-of-US$100 million payday to join LIV.

At the Masters, Koepka — who finished tied for second after getting into the final group Sunday — was asked if his decision to join the rival league been more difficult had he been fully healthy.

It would have been, he said, adding that he misses competing against the best week-in and week-out. His south Florida neighbours in particular.

“It’s just competitively where you miss playing against them, right? Because you want Rory (McIlroy) to play his best and Scottie (Scheffler) to play his best and Jon (Rahm) to play his best and go toe-to-toe with them,” Koepka said. “I do miss that.”

The major championships will have to suffice for now, however.

Koepka finished tied for second at the Masters, alongside Phil Mickelson, who fired a sizzling 7-under 65 in the final round. Mickelson is the captain of 'HyFlyers GC' on LIV. Patrick Reed, who is part of the '4 Aces' team, finished tied for fourth at Augusta National.

At Oak Hill there were a few more LIV faces on the top of the board when the dust settled. Crushers GC captain Bryson DeChambeau, who was paired with Canadian Corey Conners in the final round, finished tied for fourth. Cameron Smith, who is the defending Open Champion and the captain of LIV’s 'Ripper GC,' shot a tournament-low 65 Sunday to zip into a tie for ninth.

Reed and Mito Pereira, a member of 'Torque GC,' finished tied for 18th.

“It validates everything we’ve said from the beginning: That we’re competing at the highest level and we have the ability to win major championships,” DeChambeau told reporters Sunday.  

“We’re still out there. We haven’t forgot how to play golf,” said Smith. “We’re all great golfers out there and we know what we can do and I think that’s what we’re trying to do.”

While LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman congratulated Koepka on Twitter (“I am so proud of you,” he wrote in part, “As for the @livgolf_league players, they belong and the Majors and golf knows”) the PGA Champion did not hear directly from Norman, at least as of Sunday night. He only talked to his wife, Jena, who is pregnant with their first child.

Standing on the podium in front of the assembled press and with the golfing world watching, Koepka didn’t push the narrative along. Didn’t express his excitement for the rival league. He was more concerned with his own accomplishment.

“I definitely think it helps LIV, but I’m more interested in my own self right now, to be honest with you,” said Koepka, who did not wear his team-branded clothing this week or during the Masters. “It’s a huge thing for LIV, but at the same time I’m out here competing as an individual at the PGA Championship. I’m just happy to take this home for the third time.

“I just think (the win) validates it for myself. I guess maybe if anybody doubted it from Augusta or whatever, any doubts anybody on TV might have or whatever, I’m back. I’m here.”

Koepka is one final-round choke (his words) away from having won the first two majors of the season. The U.S. Open is up next — the other major Koepka has won twice prior. Then it’s The Open Championship, where LIV golfer Smith will defend.

Has the rivalry narrative between the two tours quieted? Well, it depends on who you ask.

Rory McIlroy said earlier in the week he was done talking about it. Smith, too — “I gave up on that narrative about six months ago” — and certainly Koepka.

But then there’s Mickelson.

Arguably the one who started it all, Mickelson spent 10 minutes with reporters after he wrapped up his week at Oak Hill, where he finished tied for 58th. There is an ongoing anti-trust lawsuit LIV Golf has filed against the PGA Tour, so that back-and-forth has not entirely quieted down. Mickelson, who made his 100th cut at a major championship last week, was asked by Barstool Sports’ Dan Rapaport why he continues to call people out online. He’s 52 with very little left to prove in this game.

“I guess it’s because I know things a lot of people don’t,” Mickelson said. “So, I want to make sure that everyone’s held accountable.

“Things that will come out soon.”

The U.S. Open is in less than a month. Koepka will likely be the favourite. Mickelson will be around too. The leaderboard may have plenty of guys from LIV, or it may have none.

Golf is a fickle game with no guarantees. But there are two things certain about LIV — the funding for it comes from a murderous regime that cannot be celebrated while the product has diluted the men’s professional golf landscape, and, with two major championships in the rear-view mirror, those who made the leap are still forces to be reckoned with at the game’s biggest events.