Blunt Brooks Koepka Proves Why PGA Tour’s Tiger Woods Dependency Is a Step in Wrong Direction

Brooks Koepka had to wait for seven holes to go under par on Monday. Whereas Rory McIlroy had a birdie on the first. Xander Schauffele was riding high and fast on the other side, knocking off his second 62 at a major. But the five-time major winner was patient and composed, waiting for his chance.

His caddie, Ricky Elliot, constantly told him to stay calm. Koepka said, “I think that’s one of the things I’m exceptionally well at.” Patience, though, was not in his DNA. Contrarily, Koepka has acquired that ‘skill’ watching and learning from the veterans on the Tour, none more than Rory McIlroy. 

Brooks Koepka tips his hat to his Palm Beach neighbor

Koepka credits his time spent with McIlroy as a great influence on his game. Asked if he was always this patient, Koepka shudders. “Oh, God no. I’m not a patient person.” During his initial days on the Tour, the Palm Beach resident ‘studied’ guys. Their attitude, their strategy, and their mental game. He looked up to Dustin Johnson, Graeme McDowell and others. 

But pairing with Rory McIlroy helped big time. Koepka recounted after carding 4-under 67 in the first round, “I played a good bit with Rory I think in ’14, ’15, too, watching how he did things. I was still on the Challenge Tour. My first year on the PGA TOUR was 2015. So just trying to figure out how to adjust to getting out there.” Koepka and McIlroy share a special friendship despite the far end of the spectrum they are in their career. 

The acrimony between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour hasn’t touched their friendship, even when Ulsterman was firing salvos at LIV regularly. Koepka and McIlroy, who are neighbors, used to meet at the near-empty Grove once in a while for practice sessions. At the height of the PGA Tour’s legal jousting with LIV Golf, the duo played a practice round at Augusta National.

Koepka, in fact, went to the extent of saying that if he had to play with one player for the rest of his life, that would be Rory McIlroy. It’s not just a courtesy, but they both feed off each other. It’s the friendly competition that drives them both. But on a wider scale, McIlroy also commands respect from other LIV Golfers. Despite his sharp tongue lacerating a few, McIlroy is perhaps the most accepted figure, with an extensive reach on both sides. This can come in handy for the Jay Monahan-led circuit during future negotiations regarding the PGA Tour-PIF merger.

How involved is Rory McIlroy in the merger talks?

McIlroy was ready to be back on the PGA Tour Policy Board when Webb Simpson offered the Northern Irish pro to succeed him. However, the process of bestowing an elected spot to another didn’t sit well with some members of the board, reportedly Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, and Patrick Cantlay. In a sort of compromise, and given McIlroy’s ties with people on the other side, he was selected as part of the Transaction Committee. 

However, Rory McIlroy doesn’t have voting power. As part of the committee, he will review the day-to-day negotiations with PIF. The committee reports back to the PGA Tour Policy Board. Ultimately, it rests on the 13-member board to take a proposal or not, where McIlroy won’t have a say. The 35-year-old didn’t hide his disappointment at Jimmy Dunne’s resignation. The hope of a merger is at its lowest, as the 26-time PGA Tour winner claimed.