NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Since returning to the PGA Tour in January after a surprising decision to part ways with LIV Golf late last year, Brooks Koepka has maintained a level-headedness about his time on the upstart circuit, pointing to personal family issues among his reasons for leaving.
The five-time major champion, who has won the PGA Championship three times, maintained that stance on Thursday following the first round at Aronimink Golf Club, where a 1-under-par 69 had him just two shots from the top spot on a crowded leaderboard.
The off-the-course news of recent weeks saw the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia announce that it would no longer be funding LIV Golf beyond this year.
“I don’t have any involvement with it anymore, so I don’t pay any attention to it,” Koepka said. “I’m kind of in my own little world, and I’d like to stay there. It’s in the past and I’m on the PGA Tour now, and I’m just focused on how I can figure out how to make this putter work.”
Koepka would be hard-pressed to not know anything about it , given his stature in the game and how his departure for LIV Golf in 2022 was a significant development in the league’s existence.
He won five times on LIV Golf in four seasons and his 2023 PGA Championship victory at Oak Hill was a boost for the league.
But in 2025 he had won of his poorest seasons as a pro, failing to win a LIV event and missing the cut in three major championships. His wife, Jena, also had a miscarriage later in the year, and although he didn’t reference it specifically on Thursday, Koepka did note the personal issues as a reason for having difficulty with his game.
“We had a lot of family issues go on last year. It was noted, and that took a toll on me,” Koepka said. “It definitely took a toll on Jena. That was kind of tough to deal with.
“I mean, at home it’s in a much better place. It’s easier to come out to work when everything at home lines up. Everything’s a lot better. Last year was just difficult personally with what was going on off the golf course, nothing to do on it. It was just off.”
How Brooks Koepka has fared since returning to the Tour, and what's holding him back
In eight starts on the PGA Tour this year, Koepka’s best finish is a tie for ninth at the Cognizant Classic. He has missed two cuts and last week was tied for 11th at the opposite-field Myrtle Beach Classic, where he shot a final-round 70 after a third-round 64.
Putting has been holding him back, as it did again Thursday, when he was 140th in the field in strokes-gained putting, giving up more than two strokes to the field.
“Struck it beautifully. I thought I drove it O.K.,” Koepka said. “But the iron play has been really good, striking it exactly how I want to, flighting it the way I want to. Then putting is just—everything is just the same as it has been.
“I feel good. Every round just seems to be the worst I can shoot. Putter is absolutely horrendous. Ball striking is absolutely phenomenal. That’s been the story of the year. Hopefully we can figure out a way to turn this around.”
More Golf from Sports Illustrated
- PGA Championship Best Bets Today: Rory McIlroy vs. Ludvig Aberg, Jon Rahm vs. Xander Schauffele
- Bryson DeChambeau Is Too Distracted By LIV Golf to Contend in Majors
- For Golf’s Former Golden Boys, the Distance Back to the Top Keeps Growing
- Good, Bad and Ugly PGA Round 1: Scottie Scheffler Is Inevitable, Garrick Higgo Has Finally Arrived
- Patrick Reed Is Taking Advantage of His Newfound Free Time
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Brooks Koepka Is in ‘Own Little World’ While Rounding Into Form After LIV Golf Departure.
