Now that LIV Golf’s Brooks Koepka won his third career PGA Championship by two shots (-9) over Scheffler and Victor Hovland on Sunday, golf may be headed in a direction it may never come back from.
Koepka, a five-time major winner, hoisted the Wanamaker Trophy around 7:00 PM eastern time on Sunday. Defecting to LIV Golf, Koepka held up a trophy that featured the logo of the tour he used to belong to. His $3.1 million first place purse was far less than the $20 million he won for the LIV Orlando event back in April.
Fellow LIV player Bryson DeChambeau finished tied for fourth at -3.
Shooting 72 during his opening round on Thursday, Koepka went into the clubhouse six shots out of the lead. He went on to shoot 66-66-67 the final three days to claim the championship.
Koepka and Scheffler were both featured on the Netflix documentary series “Full Swing,” showing drastically different tales at that point in their respective careers. Koepka had not won a major in several years, while Scheffler had reached the top spot in the World Golf Rankings. Koepka was seen trying to fix his swing after recovering from a lower body injury, while lounging poolside with now-wife Jena Sims. There was even footage of Koepka signing autographs for kids at an event, when a young boy asked if Sims was around.
You certainly could not fault the kid for teeing high and letting it fly.
Koepka admitted he could not compete with players like Scheffler in his current condition.
As he walked to the clubhouse after tapping in on 18 Sunday, Koepka was captured by CBS Sports cameras being greeted by friends every few seconds. These were not handshakes, but rather aggressive bro-hugs you would find at a frat house, instead of a professional golf event.
Brooks Koepka was finally back on top of the golf world for one weekend. Sims was noticeably absent, as she was back home in Florida preparing for the couple’s first child. Remember that Koepka spent 48 weeks atop the rankings, starting in October of 2018.
After Hovland double-bogeyed 16, Koepka turned the final three holes into a victory lap. Moments earlier, club professional Michael Block aced 15, which was the lone ace of the entire tournament. Block’s shot actually bent the cup after going in on the fly. Block would finish in the top 15, which guaranteed him a spot in next year’s PGA Championship at Valhalla in Kentucky.
LIV Golf players were barred by the PGA from competing in tour events, and thus not earning FedEx Cup points or standing for the President’s Cup. This was part of why Phil Mickelson, yet another LIV transplant, spent most of his tournament bitching about the PGA Tour and the United States Golf Association.
The eight-time major winner has twice won the PGA Championship, most recently in 2021, where he became the oldest player ever to win a major championship (50).
Kopepka finished second at Augusta last month, leaving him still searching for his first green jacket.
If the LIV golfers would admit they defected sheerly for the money, this might calm a lot of the civil war amongst players on both tours, in addition to the fanbase as a whole. LIV events differ due to players being allowed to wear shorts, there are only 54 holes (which LIV spells out in Roman numerals), and players are a part of teams.
Less work for more money, bankrolled by the Saudi Public Investment Fund. Selling your soul to an entity littered with corruption and abuse of human rights sounds fitting, considering they’re playing on a course owned by some orange violation of human decency this weekend.
-JC24