Brooks Koepka opens up on Tiger Woods call about PGA Tour return

Five-time major winner Koepka makes his comeback on the US circuit this week in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in California after becoming the first big gun to leave the Saudi-backed breakaway circuit.

The American spoke about being “nervous” in a pre-event press conference on Tuesday and admitted he’s feeling exactly the same as he waits to see how he’ll be welcomed back by PGA Tour fans in Thursday’s opening round.

He talked about how his sensational switch after being one of LIV Golf’s star signings in 2022 was primarily made due to a “family situation” and hinted that it was something to do with a visit to New York last year.

Koepka also spoke about being “super grateful” for being offered the opportunity to start a “new chapter”, admitting that he’d turned to Woods in the first instance after the door had been opened for him.

‘I felt that was maybe the most comfortable call for me’

“I called him,” he said of the 15-time major winner and now heavily involved in PGA Tour matters as chairman of a newly-established Future Competition Committee. “I’ve always had a good relationship with Tiger and I felt like that’s what I wanted to do once I had the opportunity to be reinstated on the PGA Tour.

“That was exciting. I kind of really didn't know what to do, and that was the first person who came to mind. I didn’t know Brian [Rolapp, the CEO of the PGA Tour]. I didn’t have a relationship with him just because he’s pretty new.

“Jay [Monahan, the PGA Tour’s commissioner] was going to be the next call, but I felt like Tiger was somebody that I've relied on in the past for questions and answers and how to deal with things. And I felt like that was maybe the most comfortable call for me."

The Returning Member Programme has also been offered to Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith on the strength of them being major winners as well since 2022. The offer is open until next Monday, with DeChambeau, Rahm and Smith looking as though they are staying with LIV Golf for the time being.

“I think it feels a little bit different,” admitted Koepka, who last played in a PGA Tour event in March 2022. “I'm definitely a little bit more nervous this week just coming back. But it feels good. I'm super grateful to be back. There's a lot of new faces, but I’m excited to meet those guys and feel like I'm part of the tour.”

Pressed on his decision to leave LIV and now be back on the PGA Tour, he said: “Circumstances kind of changed in my family a little bit. A lot's gone on over the past five, six months with my family. That played a big role in coming back. I don't regret anything I do. I've learned a lot. I've always enjoyed the ride no matter where I'm at. So I have no regrets. But, at the same time, I'm excited for this new chapter, super grateful to be out here.”

The 35-year-old said he’d been “overwhelmed” by the text messages he received after it was announced that he was returning to the US circuit and revealed that there had been lots of “good to see you, glad your back” shouts from players and caddies since arriving at Torrey Pines on Monday.

‘I wasn't just going to not play’

He admitted, though, that tougher conversations might lie ahead, even though two players have been added to this week’s field to accommodate his presence. “Not everybody's going to have the same opinion, that's the exciting part about this, right?” said the 2013 Scottish Challenge winner.

“There are some guys that are happy to see me back and some guys that won't and I understand that. That will be the fun part of having those conversations. Some of them might be tougher than others, but, at the same time, it's the opportunity I was given and I was going to take it. I wasn't just going to not play.”