PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Brooks Koepka didn’t know how rewarding rebounding was.
The aura Koepka radiates when he is in his public sphere – on the golf course competing and speaking to the media – is never more warm and fuzzy.
This does not mean at all that Koepka was uncooperative, responsible and professional. You did it. He just never smelled like roses.
When Koepka and several of the game’s stars left the PGA Tour to receive countless millions from LIV Golf in June 2022, the move was divisive, seen as hostile to the PGA Tour.
So when Koepka became the first player to rejoin the PGA Tour earlier this year in the ”Returning Member Program,” he had no idea what to expect in the way of reception from fans and players.
Would he feel cold or would he feel a hug?
Koepka, who has five major championships on his CV, was ranked 19th in the world when he left LIV.
When he enters the Players Championship in Thursday’s opening round at TPC Sawgrass for the first time since 2022, he will do so ranked 221st in the world and more than three years removed from his last PGA Tour victory.
If there was one player at LIV who missed the juice of playing with the world’s best players on the PGA Tour, it was Koepka.
He won the 2023 PGA Championship as a member of LIV and ran second in the Masters earlier that year.
But Koepka’s results in the majors have fallen sharply over the past two years, going no better than tying for 26 in 2024 and missing three of four cuts in 2025.
Since his return, at the Farmers Insurance Open in January, Koepka has been surprised by the way he has been affected by the weather.
“I didn’t think it would hurt me that much, but it did,” Koepka said Tuesday. Sometimes, I can’t hide my feelings. I just look at this as a job, just be a robot and continue your process. I’m sure everyone sees that when I’m on the golf course.
“But when I come away from it, I’m very chilled, relaxed and enjoying life. Taking time and appreciating where I was … I think that was something I haven’t done in my career, and it was exciting.”
Koepka on Tuesday spoke like a man smelling the roses now. He admitted to those who didn’t realize he’d been sorely missed on the PGA Tour.
Since re-entering the PGA Tour, Koepka finished tied for 56th at the Farmers Insurance Open, missed the cut at Waste Management and was tied two weeks ago at Cognizant in the Palm Beaches.
He said: “The first week I was trying to get that out of the way, and the second week I felt like it was really disappointing. [missing the cut]. I’ve made a few changes – new putter, working on a few different putters. I felt like it started to click on Thursday afternoon after the first round at Cognizant, I feel good, I’m hitting it well … I’m building momentum.”
The PGA Tour’s “Returning Member Program,” launched in January, created a way for LIV Golf members who have been away for at least two years to join the tour if they win a major or Players Championship between 2022 and 2025.
The players who were eligible are Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed and Cameron Smith.
Only Koepka took the trip, agreeing to pay a $5 million fine to charity.
There is speculation that Brian Rolapp, the PGA Tour’s newly hired CEO and former founder of the ”Returning Member Program,” is about to aggressively expand that program to entice more LIV players to return.
“I didn’t know what to expect, but the fans were great, and the players were great,” said Koepka. “So it’s a good feeling. It feels good to be back.”
