Brooks Koepka has offered a blunt response to rumours that he might return to the PGA Tour.
The controversy has been sparked by comments from former golf star Fred Couples.
Koepka told reporters at a news conference before the LIV Golf Sentosa event on Wednesday that Couples sent him a text message after his comments—which Phil Mickelson labeled a ‘jerk move’—were widely shared.
“Yeah, Fred texted me after, I guess, the comments came out. I don’t know when it was. Sometime last week,” Koepka shared.
“Everybody seems to have their own opinions, and yet no one asks me. I talk to Fred quite a bit, but we don’t dive into much detail about what’s really going on.
“As I’ve said before, I’m not in those rooms. I’ve got a contractual obligation to fulfil out here, and then we’ll see what the future holds.
“I don’t know where I’m going, so it’s perplexing how everyone else seems to.”
Koepka will next be competing in LIV Golf’s Singapore event, starting Friday, proudly defending his title as the individual champion.
“Right now, my focus is squarely on improving my game, finding ways to excel in the majors, and ensuring this team can win. After that, we’ll navigate next year and how to play even better,” he emphasised.
“It’s the same cycle. I have no insights. Yet, everyone else seems to know more than I do.”
His remarks came as a direct response to Couples, who suggested the five-time major champion ‘really wants’ to rejoin the PGA Tour.
“He wants to come back,” Couples, 65, asserted. “I believe he wants to return and play the Tour.”
Mickelson, one of LIV’s most prominent figures, was not pleased with Couples’ statements, taking to social media to confront him in a post that was eventually deleted.
“If it’s not true, he damaged a relationship that he deeply cares about,” Mickelson wrote.
“If it’s true, he stripped Brooks of his control over the timeline and narrative. Either way, this is a low-class jerk move by Fred.”
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan sidestepped questions about whether LIV players had approached the tour about a possible return.
Speaking in Orlando on Tuesday, he kept his focus on the ongoing negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
“I’m not going to get into any conversations that I did or didn’t have with players on LIV,” Monahan said.
“I’m focused on the players that are on the PGA Tour. It takes all of my energy and my team’s energy to make sure that we’re continuing to improve and strengthen the PGA Tour and doing so in the eyes of fans.
“Ultimately, that question is going to be answered through the conversations that we’re having with the PIF.”
Now, all eyes are on Augusta as we await to see how Mickelson and Couples navigate their impending reunion at one of golf’s most prestigious dinners.
They will come face to face at The Masters champions dinner, held on Tuesday just before the tournament begins.
