Brooks Koepka’s Masters weekend was a disaster. Two weeks after the event, he is still dealing with his four-shot loss to Jon Rahm.
LIV Golf returns to action in Adelaide, South Australia this week for its fourth tournament of the season. The four-time major winner reveals his disappointing performance at Augusta National.
“You take a little time to digest everything.” Koepka told the media on Wednesday that he had done a good job with the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday exercises. He then relaxed and thought about the reasons why he played poorly on Sunday. “I am always honest with myself. Normally, it is what I thought and what I did. It was good to get to bottom of the matter.
Koepka had a two-shot advantage going into the final round. However, a score of 3-over-75 on Sunday afternoon secured his place as runner-up alongside fellow LIV-player Phil Mickelson.
“I would have accepted that if you told me six months or a year earlier, when I wasn’t sure, and I didn’t know where I was, then it’s hard to argue,” he said. “Then expectations, reality and other stuff are thrown into the mix. It was a solid week and I don’t have any complaints. “I gave myself a shot to win and that’s what you want every time you play.”
In the Netflix documentary “Full Swing”, Koepka was portrayed as a golfer lost in the forest, unsure of how to compete against the best. Even during the Masters last year, he admitted that he was unsure if he could compete with former world number one Scottie Scheffler. The 32-year old has gradually but surely regained his competitive edge on the new circuit, led by Greg Norman with financial support from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Koepka, the only league winner to have won two events in the 11-event series after winning at LIV Orlando just a week prior to the Augusta close call, is the only player who has achieved this feat.
The Masters wasn’t just a time for Koepka to show the sports world that his alpha male, kick-your-ass-at-all-costs mentality was still alive and well (ironically enough for just 54 holes this time around). Dustin Johnson, Bryson deChambeau and other LIV Golf Captains saw the Masters as a chance to prove that the divide between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour is not as large as many fans think.
Koepka said, “I thought it was best for the fans to be able to see what happened in the Masters.” “We experience it behind closed doors. I don’t know about Bryson but I do know that when DJ and I are at home we see Rory McIlroy there at Grove XXIII… Keegan Bradley, Matt Fitzpatrick. Patrick Cantlay and (Rickie) Fowler live on the same road. I could meet 15 Tour players in one day if I so desired, but nobody would have anything negative to say.
We still do the same things. We’re the same people.”
“I think that half of the golfing world lives in South Florida, because we are so close.” Johnson, the captain of 4 Aces’ champion team from last year, said: “I see all the guys every day.” It was great to hang out and see some of my buddies that I don’t get to see on LIV or Jupiter.
Johnson said he heard many “Go Aces!” yells in the audience and attributed the warm reception of patrons to their respect for Augusta National.
DJ explained that it’s not about what Tour you are on, but more about your golf. “I believe that should be the case all the time.”
