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Koepka joins LIV Golf, but remains in Travelers field

CROMWELL — Brooks Koepka became the latest golfer to join the LIV Golf Invitational Series, according to several media outlets.

The Telegraph in London was the first to report the news early Tuesday morning. The next LIV event will be held at Pumpkin Ridge GC in Portland, Ore., June 30-July 2. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan suspended 17 tour players after they all teed off in the first event in London on June 9.

So theoretically, Koepka, 32, who is currently 19th in the world rankings, can play the Travelers Championship this week. He is still in the field for the event, which begins Thursday.

Last week at the U.S. Open, when asked about the possibility of joining LIV, Koepka told reporters, “There’s been no other option to this point, so where else are you going to go?”

When further pressed on the subject, Koepka said “I’m here at the U.S. Open. I’m ready to play the U.S. Open, and I think it kind of sucks, too, you are all throwing this black cloud over the U.S. Open. It’s one of my favorite events. I don’t know why you guys keep doing that. The more legs you give it, the more you keep talking about it.”

According to published reports, Monahan met with the PGA Tour players here in Connecticut this morning, providing an update, which included a series of events with no cuts and limited fields — limited to the top golfers from the previous FedEx Cup season. Monahan is scheduled to meet the media at 1 p.m. Wednesday at TPC River Highlands, site of the Travelers Championship.

Koepka has won four major championships — two U.S. Open and two PGA Championship titles each. He came into the 2019 Travelers Championship as the No. 1 golfer in the world.

Koepka has played just three times since March — in all three major championships. With his brother Chase already a LIV Golf member and the LIV only requiring a small commitment to tournaments — the series has just eight events this year — Koepka was a logical choice.

Koepka also got married earlier this month. He tied for 55th at the Open last

Rob Carr / Getty Images Brooks Koepka plays his shot from the fourth tee during the second round of the 122nd U.S. Open Championship at The Country Club on Friday in Brookline, Mass. Koepka, who will join the LIV Golf tour, is still going to play the Travelers Championship this week.