“Excited to Battle with Them,” Brooks Koepka Relishes Chance of Facing ‘Dominant’ Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy Following PGA Tour Return

Brooks Koepka will make his first regular PGA Tour start this week since the 2022 Valspar Championship, where he finished T12.

“Excited to Battle with Them,” Brooks Koepka Relishes Chance of Facing ‘Dominant’ Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy Following PGA Tour Return

Scottie Scheffler, Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy (Image via Imago)

Brooks Koepka will mark his return to the PGA Tour this week at the Farmers Insurance Open. Ahead of this, the 5-time major champion expressed his excitement to get the chance to face Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.

Scheffler and McIlroy have been the dominant golfers in the past few seasons. The two of them occupy the top two spots in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).

Last year, the two golfers won 3 of the 4 majors events. While McIlroy captured the Masters Tournament and finally completed the career grand slam, Scheffler won 2 majors.

The World No.1 first won the PGA Championship in May and then got his hands on the Open Championship in July through a dominating performance. He thus completed three legs of the career grand slam.

While he and McIlroy will not tee up at the Farmers Insurance Open this week, Koepka is excited to get the chance to face them more regularly now.

I’m super excited. Obviously Scottie’s been dominant. Yeah, Rory’s got five [majors] now. I’m excited to battle with them. I think that will be really fun.

Brooks Koepka told the reporters

Last year, Koepka had a dip in form. He missed the cut in 3 of the 4 majors (Masters Tournament, PGA Championship and the Open Championship). On the LIV Golf circuit, he registered just 2 top-10 finishes, with one of them being a runner-up finish at LIV Golf Singapore.

Brooks Koepka admits being nervous ahead of his return to PGA Tour

After 4 years away on LIV Golf, Brooks Koepka will make his official return to the PGA Tour this week. In the press conference on Tuesday, the World No.1 admitted that he was “nervous” about his game and how the fans would react.

Brooks Koepka
Brooks Koepka (Image via Newsweek)

After his move to LIV Golf, Koepka received severe flak from fans and some players. He was one of the big names that left the tour to join the breakaway tour on a massive deal.

The news about his exit from LIV Golf in December stunned the fans. Many of them would later urge the PGA Tour to reinstate him. So, while majority of the fans are excited to see him come back this week, the golfer is a little bit nervous.

It feels a little bit different. I’m definitely a little bit more nervous this week… It will give me a good idea where my game is at. Maybe that’s what I’m a little nervous about as well, just to see how the fans respond to it.

Brooks Koepka told the reporters

This week will mark his first regular start on the PGA Tour since the Valspar Championship in March 2022. He finished T12 in that competition following a score of 11-under par.

Not everyone on the PGA Tour is happy with Brooks Koepka’s return

Brooks Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour has been one of the biggest highlights of golf in recent times. While many are glad to see him back, there are some who are not happy with his return.

Brooks Koepka
Brooks Koepka (Image via Imago)

Following his return, former U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark sounded off on him. The 32-year-old admitted that he was frustrated to see him come back without facing any more major consequences.

When asked if he had any conversations with those who were unhappy about his return, Koepka expressed that he understands why some people would not like it.

Not everybody’s going to have the same opinion, that’s the exciting part about this, right? There are some guys that are happy to see me back and some guys that won’t and I understand that.

Brooks Koepka told the reporters

The 5-time major champion will tee off alongside Max Homa and Ludvig Aberg as one of the featured groups. He will then play in the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Arizona, before going home to play the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches in Florida.

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