Thanks to his 2023 PGA Championship win, Brooks Koepka is going to make his entry into The Masters Tournament this season. Surely, you and I would think his last year’s T45 finish is what’s bothering him right now? It’s not. Brooks Kopeka has been facing solid rumors of leaving the Saudi-backed league with his contract ending in the 2026 season. His famous defense of “I don’t know where I’m going, so I don’t know how everybody else does” didn’t help the matter. Before that, he was in the news because of Greg Norman. How?

Well, Greg Norman left LIV Golf in January. But, Brooks Koepka and fellow golfer Jon Rahm seemed more interested in the Saudi-backed league’s first TV rights win with FOX Sports than in his departure. Talking about this particular situation, Koepka said, “Having FOX Sports on board is a huge win for LIV Golf. They know how to bring sports to life, and I’m pumped to see how they showcase what makes our game so unique.”

And, in Koepka’s defense, it was a huge win for the Saudi-backed league. It was the first time the league won the chance to air on a major TV network in the U.S. Additionally, it also had to do with Greg Norman’s failure to grow LIV Golf despite solely focusing on it. Last year, Norman said, “I’m just gonna answer as the CEO of LIV. My boss told me LIV is not gonna go anywhere.” We have only seen a few changes since.

In the simplest terms, Brooks Koepka is very outright with where he stands with LIV Golf, at least sometimes. Is it constantly due to LIV Golf’s failure to measure up to Koepka’s previous Tour? Likely. After all, despite the TV rights deal, LIV Golf is struggling with its viewership with the Riyadh opener getting only 12,000 viewers. Recently, Kopeka sat down with his fellow golfer, Bryson DeChambeau, for a joint interview for the ongoing LIV Golf event in Miami. The interviewer very smartly posed the question of LIV Golf’s position in the golf world. The interviewer added, “What changes need to be made?”

What did Koepka answer? “I think we all hoped it would have been a little bit further along, and that’s no secret. No matter where you’re at, you always hope everything is further along. But they’re making progress, and it seems to be going in the right direction.”

Ok, first about the “right direction” part. In the recent news, R&A created an exemption category for LIV golfers in The Open after the U.S. Open. Undoubtedly, that’s a win. However, LIV golfers are still struggling to get their OWGR ranking in the 2025 season. Will that get resolved? We will see. However, Koepka’s complaint about LIV Golf is old.

LIV Golf’s recent failure and Brooks Koepka

“Look we’re 4 years in, it’s just getting its feet wet and figuring out what direction they want it to go,” Koepka said during a recent interview with Joe Pompliano. “Obviously there’s been a lot of change and hires of people within LIV and now having Scott [O’Neil]… I think Scott’s a great guy and he can lead LIV to where it needs to be and where I think it should be. Because we are behind. To be quite fair. Behind where we should be. From bringing sponsors into hitting the international market and the US market.”

Interestingly, not the first time he has been vocal about LIV Golf issues. For instance, just last month, LIV Golf received a strict response from Adelaide City Councilor. So, what was it about? It had to do with the Saudi-backed league’s hope to remain in Adelaide. According to Keiran Snape, he learned about the government’s deal to move LIV Golf from the Grange Golf Club to North Adelaide via social media! In response, he said that he would not support the situation “no matter what.” He added, “If I could do that, I can sleep happy at night.”

Additionally, despite the challenges, the PIF’s investment in LIV Golf could reach nearly $5 billion by the end of this year, according to financial reports from LIV Golf’s UK arm, excluding its U.S. operations. Could this be the reason Brooks Koepka is still sticking with LIV Golf? It’s likely. But will it resolve the issues? We will see.