Major champion drops shock Brooks Koepka claim

It’s been three years since Brooks Koepka took a one-way trip to LIV Golf.

Koepka, a nine-time PGA Tour winner – including five majors – jumped ship for the Saudi-backed circuit in 2022 and has since banked eye-watering cash.

But it doesn’t appear to be what he wants. At least not anymore.

According to 1992 Masters champion Fred Couples, the Floridian “really wants” to return to the PGA Tour.

“I talked to Brooks Koepka all the time,” Couples told Dave Mahler and Dick Fain of KJR 93.3 FM yesterday. “I love Brooks Koepka, and I’m not going to say anything extra except I talked to him all the time.

“He wants to come back. I will say that I believe he really wants to come back and play the Tour.”

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As reunification talks rumble on between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, which bankrolls LIV Golf, Couples believes a line will have to be drawn, though.

“For me personally, there are a lot of guys that are going to be pushed out,” he added. “I don’t know how you get an elevated event with 72 people and bring seven superstars in.

“What do you tell those other seven? Bye-bye.”

That part of the negotiations remains unclear, with several theories swirling since the ‘Framework Agreement’ was first announced in June 2023.

Couples, meanwhile, has been a staunch opposer of LIV since its inception the year prior.

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But as golf’s civil war has cooled down, the 65-year-old has taken a back seat, insisting he’s keen to see how the game’s biggest dilemna unfolds.

“I’m not nearly as vocal as I was because everything’s kind of calmed down,” Couples said.

“I want to say Jon Rahm is the last guy to leave here, maybe there’s been one or two more. Basically no one, you know.”