KOEPKA IS JOINING LIV, AND ANCER TOO
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 said he still would be able to compete on the PGA Tour until he hits a shot on the LIV Golf circuit. The person spoke on condition of anonymity without authorization to speak on behalf of the tour.
The Daily Telegraph in the UK first reported Koepka’s decision.
It was another step — and a big name with his four major championships — that added to the roster of the LIV Golf series that invariably will lead to no space for some of the lesserknown players in the inaugural event outside London two weeks ago.
Koepka withdrew late Tuesday night from the Travelers Championship, the PGA Tour said. He was not at a player meeting Tuesday morning at the TPC River Highlands. The next LIV Golf event starts June 30 outside Portland, Ore.
Koepka was the second player, behind Rory McIlroy, to speak 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 48man 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. One was Abraham Ancer of Mexico, the No. 20 in the world who won a World Golf Championship last year in a playoff, along with the Australian Open in 2018.
Ancer said his decision was not taken lightly and that joining LIV would allow him to give
back to the game by helping it grow in Mexico.
The development came as the PGA Tour held a player meeting at the Travelers Championship, during which Commissioner Jay Monahan spoke of the tour’s position and plans to reshape the season and its tournaments.
According to two players in the meeting, the PGA Tour plans to return to a calendar season that would start in January and the FedEx Cup playoffs would be eligible for only for the top 70 players. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was for players.
Currently, the top 125 make the postseason, with the top 70 advancing to the second playoff event and the top 30 to the Tour Championship. The new plan is for the top 70 at the start, then top 50 and top 30.
The fall would be used for players beyond 70th to secure cards for the following year, although research showed most inside the top 100 would be safe.
Faldo retiring
Nick Faldo is leaving 16 years as the lead golf analyst for CBS Sports. In his place will be another former Masters champion.
No, not Phil Mickelson. CBS announced that Trevor Immelman of South Africa, who won the 2008 Masters and will be the International team Presidents Cup captain this year, will step in for Faldo starting next year.
Notable
The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is doubling the size of its purse to $9 million. It’s another boost to the women’s game that brings prize money for the five majors to nearly triple the amount from a decade ago. It’s also a 300 percent increase from the 2014 Women’s PGA Championship. That was the year before KPMG and the PGA of America partnered with the LPGA Tour. The idea was to increase the prize money and the profile of the second-oldest LPGA major by taking it to fabled courses.