I Think Brooks Koepka Might Be Washed

I take no joy in writing this because I actually like watching Brooks Koepka play golf.

While everyone has crowed over media darlings like Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth over the past decade, it was Koepka who dominated the major championship landscape. From 2017 to 2023, he won five times and had nine top-10 major finishes on top of that.

Koepka was golf’s bully, a player who was able to raise his game at precisely the right moment. No one could match his ability to turn on the switch at majors. He would dither around the PGA Tour, rarely contending, only to show up at majors like a top player in the world who had been in prime form for months.

He showed up with swag and would stomp on dreams, winning like he expected it to happen. It was almost emotionless, save for a chip on his shoulder and an “I’m better than you” vibe.

Koepka displayed the kind of personality that didn’t endear him much to the masses—but it won him a lot of important golf tournaments. Only 14 men in the game’s history have more major titles.

But I’m afraid we might have already seen the last of that guy.

I’m starting to think Brooks Koepka is washed.

The results are matching the body language

From a pure drought perspective, it hasn’t been that long since Koepka proved he can be a major championship menace.

He lost to Jon Rahm in the 2023 Masters but backed it up with a quintessential Koepka victory at the PGA Championship. That was only two years ago.

It feels like much longer than that, however. Koepka has faded from view considerably, having gone seven consecutive major starts without even sniffing contention.

And after an opening 4-over 75 in the first round of this week’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, it’s once again doubtful he will be a factor.

We’re talking about someone who, for the most part, went seven years where we all felt compelled to mention his name first in pre-major discussions. He usually validated that belief in him. The lone exception was in 2022 as his game cratered but everyone acknowledged that was due to a knee injury. He couldn’t even bend down to read putts.

When Koepka went to LIV in May of that injury-riddled year, many speculated he was taking the money as an insurance policy, cashing in on his success and riding off into the sunset.

In early 2023, the first season of Netflix’s Full Swing painted a grim outlook for Koepka. He not only looked lost physically as a golfer but he sounded defeated mentally.

“I’ll be honest with you, I can’t compete with these guys, week in, week out,” Koepka said during that episode.

But there was still life in his career. A healthy Koepka climbed the mountaintop again for a brief flurry in 2023, appearing to rejoin the game’s biggest forces after what seemed to be a slight injury-induced blip.

Now I’m wondering if that comeback was more an aberration than anything.

Similar to Tiger returning to form in 2018 and 2019 to prove he could do it, did Koepka give us one last hurrah in 2023?

Koepka is often compared to Dustin Johnson, another top player who fled for LIV. But Koepka, 35, is five years younger. And his desire for winning—that ability to lock in at majors—outpaced Johnson by a wide margin.

Johnson took the LIV money and basically retired. Good for him. Do whatever you want. His career didn’t have that much more sunlight left so it was easier to stomach.

But the prospect of Koepka taking that same route is much more disappointing. He could have reached Arnold Palmer or Tom Watson levels of legend. He could have undeniably been considered a top 10 golfer ever—and I don’t think top five was off the table.

Maybe he still does that. Maybe there is still fight left in him.

To be clear, I am rooting hard for that to happen.

But, right now, Koepka seems unfocused

At the moment, we’re looking at the No. 59 player in the world. And that accounts for all tournament golf played anywhere.

Guys who are ahead of him on that list include Harry Hall, Sam Stevens and Ben Griffin.

No disrespect to those guys but we’re talking about Brooks Koepka here. Has he really fallen that far?

Even comparing Koepka just to LIV players, he is No. 12 among that group. There are only 50 guys! And many of them wouldn’t even be able to keep a Tour card, let alone be top players.

On Thursday at Quail Hollow, Koepka had none of his normal intensity.

His day could be summed up by his tee shot at No. 3. With his ball still in the air—it was a massive slice heading for the trees—Koepka was already asking for a provisional.

His body language is saying that he’s checked out.

This is his No. 1 event. He’s never missed the cut at the PGA. Everything is set up perfectly for him.

And he opens 5-over through 12 holes?

Is it injury? It doesn’t look like it. Is it apathy? You wouldn’t think a competitor of his stature would be that apathetic in such short order.

Would an eventual switch back to the Tour change things? I don’t think it would hurt. That ability to turn things on at a moment’s notice might be easier if he was playing more serious golf on a week-to-week basis (if he even wants that).

All I can say right now is that golf was better with the threat of Koepka taking everyone’s lunch money. Maybe you rooted against him or maybe you wanted to see him play the spoiler—either way, I’m guessing he made you more invested in majors.

We are missing that guy now. As I’m staring at a major leaderboard that looks more like the 3M Open than the PGA Championship, it sure would be nice if Koepka rekindled what made him so great.

There’s a growing chance he won’t—and that makes me sad.

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