Brooks Koepka, one of the first players to speak out against the 48-player Saudi Super League, has become the latest PGA Tour player to sign with LIV, The Associated Press has confirmed.
A person with knowledge of Koepka’s decision told the AP that the four-time major winner could still compete on the PGA Tour until he makes his LIV debut. The person asked not to be identified because they had not been authorized to speak on behalf of the tour. The British newspaper The Daily Telegraph was the first to report on Koepka’s decision.
LIV has not announced Koepka’s addition, amid speculation that several others could do so soon.
One of them was the Mexican Abraham Ancer, number 20 in the world ranking and last year he won his first PGA Tour tournament in a playoff — the FedEx St. Jude Invitational of the World Golf Championship. He also boasts the 2018 Australian Open title.
Ancer explained that his decision was not taken “lightly” and that joining LIV will help golf grow in Mexico.
“I never would have imagined being in this position today,” he said on Twitter.
The defections of Koepka and Ancer came to light just as the PGA Tour held a pre-Travellers Championship players’ meeting, in which commissioner Jay Monahan discussed the tour’s position and plans to modify the season and its tournaments.
According to two players who participated in the meeting, the PGA wants to return to a schedule where the season starts in January and the FedEx Cup playoffs feature the top 70 in the rankings. The players asked not to be identified because the meeting was private.
Koepka is scheduled to compete in the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut, but did not attend the players’ meeting at the TPC River Highlands club course. The next LIV tournament kicks off on June 30 outside of Portland, Oregon.
Koepka was the second player, after Rory McIlroy, to criticize the Super League in March 2020, telling the AP that “I don’t think golf should be limited to 48 players.”
“Money won’t change my life,” Koepka said then.
The rival league’s project was initially conceived as the “Premier Golf League”, although it also depended on financing from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. Greg Norman and LIV embraced the idea of tournaments with 48 players, no cuts, and teams.
Koepka would bring a renowned figure to the LIV with his four major titles — two in a row from the US Open (2017-18) and the PGA Championship (2018-19), but he has not excelled since then after suffering a series of injuries.
His last victory dates back to the Phoenix Open and right now he is number 19 in the ranking. He didn’t make the cut at the Masters and he didn’t crack the top 50 at the PGA Championship and US Open either.