MIAMI — Brooks Koepka, former President of the United States Donald Trump, played his morning pro-am in advance of Thursday’s LIV Golf Team Championship in Miami. Don’t let that get you down. Despite playing alongside the club’s nameake, Trump National Doral Blue Monster, Brooks Koepka didn’t receive any useful information to pass on to his Smash GC colleagues.
“He didn’t give me any tips. He won’t give me any tips. Koepka smiled about his round with the former president, saying that he didn’t want him to beat me. We had a great time. It’s always a lot of fun to play with him.”
Nevertheless, Koepka doesn’t need the support. He struggled initially after joining the upstart circuit, which was led by Greg Norman, and supported by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. His first four starts in the 48 player, no-cut events saw him finish T-16, T-11 and T-21. The old Koepka was there when the series went to Bangkok. The 32-year old finished in Thailand 8th, before winning the following week in Saudi Arabia at the regular-season finale. He won the playoff in three holes with his teammate Peter Uihlein.
The pair have reunited after split with Claude Harmon III long-time swing instructor, who first worked with Koepka in 2013, when he was playing on Europe’s Challenge Tour. They began working together again two years ago, following the November 2020 Masters. Harmon said to Golf Magazine that Koepka hits the ball like it’s 2019, and Koepka agreed.
Koepka stated that he believes they’ve known it was coming for several weeks. “I believe it was when we were at Bedminster. I called (Harmon) on Friday and he was there on Saturday. He started to work with me there, and I have been asking him every day if he will come home from work four to five days per week. It has been a great experience. It’s a great feeling. I’m very happy.”
Koepka said, “I’m just glad to be back.” There was always the question of “Am I going to be the same player?” because of all the injuries. It’s easy to question your ability and then suddenly all the pieces start to fall back. You win, and you realize that the mental side of it is still there. It’s still the physical side. So I just have to put them all together every week, and I’m very happy.”
The series will take a break after the Miami event. It will transition into the LIV golf league in 2023. Events are likely to start in February.
Koepka stated that he would just continue doing the same things he has been doing for the past four months. He also noted how he is looking forward to getting back into the gym. Keep playing golf. That’s the biggest thing. I’ve been working closely with Claude, and I’m very happy. I don’t want it getting out of control and returning to its original state.
