This week, we tell the full story of Brooks Koepka. From his rise, to leaving the PGA Tour, through the LIV years, and why he has now come full circle. One career, told end to end.
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🛣️ The long way in
Brooks didn't arrive on the PGA Tour with hype or expectation. After turning professional in 2012, he failed to secure immediate status in the United States and instead headed to Europe. There, he learned how to win, stacking victories on the Challenge Tour and European Tour while largely being ignored back home. By the time America noticed him, Europe was already done with him.
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👣 The first step on Tour
By 2014, Koepka had finally earned his way onto the PGA Tour. His first appearance came at the Fry’s.com Open, where he immediately put himself in contention with a top three finish. It was not a moment that dominated the headlines, but it told a quieter story. Later that year, a strong showing at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst secured him full Tour status, turning years of work outside the spotlight into a permanent seat at the table.
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🏆 First win, new expectations
The real shift came in early 2015. At the WM Phoenix Open, Koepka closed the door on the field to claim his first PGA Tour victory. One win was enough to change how he was viewed. He was no longer a promising newcomer finding his feet, but a player capable of finishing tournaments off under pressure. From this point on, expectations followed him everywhere.
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🚨 The major arrival
Everything changed in June 2017. At the U.S. Open at Erin Hills, Koepka separated himself from the field and claimed his first major championship. The win came with a record tying score, but it was the manner of it that stood out. He looked comfortable on the hardest stage in golf, playing with a calm that suggested this was always the destination. From that week on, majors were no longer aspirations. They were expectations.
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🔥 When majors became a habit
What followed was one of the most relentless major runs of the modern era. In 2018, Koepka defended the U.S. Open and added a PGA Championship later that summer. He returned in 2019 to defend the PGA again, making it four major titles in three seasons. Regular Tour events came and went, but on the toughest weeks, against the strongest fields, he kept showing up. At his peak, majors were not special occasions. They were the baseline.
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🎯 Why LIV wanted him
By 2021, Koepka had become the ideal target. He was still in his prime, carried undeniable major credibility, and showed little interest in the week to week grind of the PGA Tour. He spoke openly about saving energy for the biggest events and treated regular finishes as background noise. For LIV, this mattered. They did not just need recognisable names. They needed players who could prove, on the biggest stages, that the talent followed them. Koepka checked every box.
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🗣️ The rumours start
By early 2022, the conversation around Koepka had shifted. Reports linked him to the breakaway league, and questions began following him into press conferences. He pushed back publicly, showing clear frustration at the speculation and accusing the noise of becoming a distraction. But the more he resisted the narrative, the louder it became. In golf, denial rarely quiets a story. It usually confirms there is something worth listening to.
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🚪 The jump
In June 2022, the speculation ended. Koepka officially left the PGA Tour and joined LIV Golf, becoming one of the biggest names to cross the line. The decision triggered an immediate suspension and cemented the divide between the two tours. For Koepka, the explanation was simple. Fewer events. More control over his schedule. A focus on being ready for the weeks that mattered most. For the rest of golf, it was a moment that made the split impossible to ignore.
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😐 When it stopped looking fun
Over time, the tone around Koepka began to change. The wins were still there, but the edge felt dulled. His interviews grew shorter, his body language flatter, and his comments hinted at frustration rather than freedom. By 2025, he openly admitted that LIV was not as far along as he had hoped. The idea of control had delivered comfort, but it had not delivered the spark that once drove him. For someone who thrived on the biggest stages, the atmosphere no longer seemed to fit.
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🔁 The exit and the return
By the end of 2025, the direction was clear. Koepka stepped away from LIV, bringing his time there to a quiet close. Weeks later, he applied for PGA Tour reinstatement, accepting new conditions that reflected how much the landscape had shifted. His return was not framed as a victory lap or a reconciliation. It was a reset. The same player, coming back to a very different Tour, with unfinished business and no interest in rewriting the past.
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That’s it for this week. One career, two tours, and a full circle moment back on the PGA Tour.
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Team Zire
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