Report: Koepka set to jump to Saudi-funded tour
Brooks Koepka, one of the first players to denounce a rival league for only 48 players, is the latest PGA Tour player to sign on with Saudi-funded LIV Golf series.
A person briefed on Koepka’s decision told the Associated Press he still would be able to compete on the PGA Tour until he hits a shot on the LIV Golf circuit. The Daily Telegraph in the UK first reported Koepka’s decision.
Koepka remained in the field for the Travelers Championship, though he was not at a player meeting Tuesday morning at the TPC River Highlands. The next LIV Golf event starts June 30 outside Portland, Oregon.
Koepka was the second player, behind Rory McIlroy, who spoke out against a rival league in March 2020 when he told the AP, “I have a hard time believing golf should be about just 48 players.”
“Money isn’t going to change my life,” Koepka said at the time.
The proposed rival league was different from LIV Golf, presented as the “Premier Golf League” though still relying on Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. Greg Norman and LIV Golf took the idea of 48-man fields, no cuts with a team component.
LIV Golf has not announced Koepka’s signing amid speculation that a few others were soon to join. ESPN Deportes reported over the weekend that Abraham Ancer of Mexico also was signing. Ancer is No. 20 in the world with one PGA Tour victory.
Koepka gives LIV Golf a big name with his four major titles — back-toback in the U.S. Open (2017-18) and PGA Championship (2018-19), though his game has been in decline since then because of a series of injuries.
Elsewhere: The
KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is doubling the size of its purse to $9 million, another boost to the women’s game that brings prize money for the five majors to nearly triple the amount from a decade ago. … Nick Faldo is leaving after 16 years as the lead golf analyst for CBS Sports. In his place will be another former Masters champion. Trevor Immelman, who won the 2008 Masters and will be the International team Presidents Cup captain this year, will step in for Faldo starting next year.
ETC. NBA:
The Phoenix Suns have hired Morgan Cato as an assistant general manager and vice president of basketball operations, becoming the first woman of color to hold an assistant GM title for an NBA franchise. Cato comes to Phoenix after spending nearly a decade with the NBA league office, where she most recently worked as the associate vice president of business operations for NBA’s league operations department.
Swimming: Hungary’s Kristof Milak set a world record in the men’s 200 butterfly at the swimming world championships in Budapest. Milak, 22, clocked 1 minute, 50.34 seconds to shave 0.39 seconds off the previous record he set at the last worlds in Gwangju, South Korea, on July 24, 2019. Milak finished 3.03 seconds in front of French swimmer Leon Marchand.
College football: Florida State welcomed two additions in offensive lineman transfer Jazston Turnetine and freshman defensive lineman Ayobami Tifase. Turnetine spent two seasons at South Carolina, where he appeared in 18 games (10 starts) for the Gamecocks.