During June, the PGA Tour was in a brawl with LIV Golf. The two rival leagues were head-to-head until they reached a merger. People had been curious about the reason behind it. It could be Brooks Koepka. Koepka came out victorious at Oak Hill, days before the merger was signed. He became the first LIV golfer to clinch a major, adding a fifth major win to his name.
This triumph created the idea that if more LIV golfers secure victories at the majors, then that will pave their path to the US Ryder Cup team. Well, for Koepka, the triumph came after a long list of injuries.
Brooks Koepka’s Major Triumph Changed His Status
Brooks Koepka was suffering both mentally and physically. There were plenty of leg problems, which made him undergo surgeries. Some started contemplating whether he would go completely aloof from golf. Also, his arrival at LIV Golf created an even bigger controversy.
But then he returned with Smash GC in the LIV tournaments. His body was getting better, and he could swing his club without a problem. He ended up landing a win in Orlando. The golfer played well at the Masters Championship as well, sealing in the second position and narrowly missing out on the trophy by inches. But the golfer learned a lesson from there.
He applied all that during the PGA Championship. Koepka started dominating the game from the very beginning on Sunday. The LIV golfer dropped three birdies on the first four holes. He finally defeated Viktor Hovland, who was two strokes behind Brooksie. His final round of 67 brought him back into the winner’s circle.
Brooks ended the day with a jovial smile because he knew, apart from all the celebrations, he’d recovered his spot. This helped his OWGR rankings, and his major winning list was five in the end.
He became the first LIV golfer to play in the Ryder Cup. His triumph meant a huge alteration in the entire system of golf on an international level. Thus, it was quite evident that his major win was a blockbuster instance. In the same year, Koepka also won the LIV Golf Individual Championship. All of this paved the way for LIV Golf and brought hope to its players.
Earlier, LIV golfers were seen as merely defectors, but their stellar performances in major championships, cemented by Koepka’s win, changed the perspective on the Saudi-backed league entirely. The notion that the league was driven by merely money took a hit, and the breaks between tournaments and more family time did start seeming reasonable after all.
