UPDATE: Brooks Koepka withdraws from Travelers Championship
According to reports, Brooks Koepka is the next high-profile player to sign up for the LIV Golf Invitational Series, with confirmation expected imminently.
If the American does join the Saudi-backed Series, he is expected to be one of the 48-man field for the second event starting on 30 June in Portland, Oregon. Before that, though, there is this week’s Travelers Championship on the PGA Tour, and – intriguingly – Koepka is still listed in the field.
Video: Things You Didn't Know About Brooks Koepka
While his continued inclusion is surprising, it is still less than a week since Koepka appeared to distance himself from suggestions he would leave the PGA Tour for the lucrative Series. Speaking before the US Open, he said: “I’m here. I’m here at the US Open. I’m ready to play the US Open, and I think it kind of sucks, too, you are all throwing this black cloud over the US Open. It’s one of my favourite events. I don’t know why you guys keep doing that. The more legs you give it, the more you keep talking about it.”
If the American does tee it up at TPC River Highlands this week, it will be his last PGA Tour appearance for the foreseeable future. Seventeen players are currently suspended after they played in the inaugural event of the Series at London’s Centurion Club. That number will swell further once the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed, Pat Perez and Abraham Ancer tee it up in the second event next week. The same fate will befall Koepka if, as expected, he follows suit.
Ancer is the latest player to sign up for the second event, while in the statement confirming his move, LIV Golf also said that additional player announcements would be confirmed in the coming days. While we await further news, there is likely to be more clarification on the PGA Tour’s stance on players joining the Series later this week. The organisation’s commissioner, Jay Monahan, is due to hold a press conference from TPC River Highlands on Wednesday at 1pm local time.
Whether Koepka will be confirmed as a LIV Golf player or still be slated to play in the Travelers Championship by that point is unclear, but no doubt if he does tee it up there the day after, it will be more than a little awkward - for both him and the Tour. Regardless, Koepka has never won the Travelers Championship, though he put in a strong performance last year, finishing in a tie for 5th. If this is to be his final appearance on the Tour for the foreseeable future, he will hope to at least emulate his performance of last year and go out on a high.
Koepka is due to tee it up in a group with Cam Davis and Brandt Snedeker at 7.15am local time on Thursday.
