Wyndham Clark was not the only touring professional to bust up an inanimate object this summer.
Brooks Koepka took out a tee marker during the first round of the recent LIV Golf event in Dallas. Since the TV ratings were miniscule and so very few spectators saw him vent his anger on site, this tantrum was largely overlooked. Koepka, who had already made two triple bogeys, withdrew mid-round, citing illness.
I think something beyond illness was at play here.
I believe Koepka, like Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, realizes he made a mistake by signing with LIV. His bank account is flush, to be sure. But his skills have diminished, and he is playing in professional obscurity. A five-time major winner, Koepka signed a contract, took the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund’s money and now has no way out. He is no longer one of the best players in the world, and I think this frustrates him. And so he took out his frustration on an innocent tee marker.
By taking the LIV money, the 35-year-old Koepka squandered several years of his prime. And by missing the cut in three of four majors this year, he also played his way off the 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup team. He may never compete in the Ryder Cup again.
I further believe that Koepka, Rahm, and Hatton’s regrets are clearly understood by the rank-and-file PGA Tour players they left behind. This is going to be a serious impediment to LIV’s recruiting efforts going forward. Brand-name players don’t want to play in front of thin galleries and a tiny TV audience. Yes, the money is good, although going forward it may be less good. But joining LIV is akin to entering a witness protection program. You just disappear.
There are other reasons the big brand names are likely to stay on the PGA Tour. At LIV Golf, the players work for CEO Scott O’Neil and have no voice in the direction of the league. By contrast, new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp, who begins his term today, works for the players. They have a real voice in the direction of the tour and can earn equity stakes in it.
Let’s face it: if you can get the ball in the hole fast enough, life on the PGA Tour is pretty good. The money is more than enough for the top 100 players, and as commissioner Jay Monahan said many years ago, you are playing for something that matters: legacy.
I think it needs to be observed that the LIV schedule has taken the edge off many LIV players’ games. With those flush bank accounts, the brand-name players simply are not tournament ready. Iron sharpens iron, and there just isn’t enough iron in the LIV ranks.
“It’s hard to make an argument that LIV prepares you to win major championships,” Paul McGinley, a Golf Channel commentator and past European Ryder Cup captain, recently said. “They are playing team events, they’re not playing on the most difficult golf courses, traveling around the world and then having to come back to America to play three [of] four majors.”
The PGA Tour no longer needs LIV Golf if there are just two players of consequence missing.
The conversation around reunification of men's professional golf revolves around the idea that many of the best players in the world are rarely seen together, that they are only playing in the majors. I take issue with the word “many.” Based on the results from the majors this year, I think there are only two players that golf fans are missing: Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. The rest of the LIV players have aged out or otherwise lost their elite status.
I get it that Joaquin Niemann partisans will push back, but over the past three seasons, he has one top-10 in a major and four missed cuts. His seven LIV Golf victories over the last two seasons, including a win on Sunday in England, are indicative of the quality of play on that circuit. Niemann may be one of their best players, but it is not PGA Tour-grade competition.
The lack of really top-tier players, coupled with the Public Investment Fund’s insistence that team golf be part of a negotiated settlement between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour, is why there likely won’t be reunification. The PGA Tour no longer needs LIV Golf if there are just two players of consequence missing.
Based on my conversations on the golf course with dedicated golfers this summer, I think more and more golf fans agree with this assessment.
E-MAIL JIM
Top: Fans take in the LIV Golf UK event in Rocester, England.
Mateo Villalba, LIV Golf