Brooks Koepka was a big part of the early story at the U.S. Open two weeks ago at Oakmont as he lurked on the leaderboard after the first round. Some wondered if we might see a return to form from the five-time major champ.
While Koepka faded back over the course of the next three days, finishing T12 at 6 over, it was his best showing at a major since winning the 2023 PGA Championship, and signaled a potential upswing after a rough couple of years. The first round of LIV Golf Dallas quickly dashed any hopes Koepka would carry that performance over into his next event. He made a pair of early triple bogeys on Friday at Maridoe Golf Club, and then yanked his tee shot left on the ninth.
At that point, the frustration boiled over and the Smash GC star smashed his driver into the ground and then turned and hit the tee marker into the gallery before storming off.
Koepka withdrew from the tournament after making a bogey on the 9th after that drive, with Smash GC teammate Luis Carrera replacing him. LIV Golf’s official communications account noted their score will only count towards the team competition, but Koepka could still return later this weekend if he choses.
Hopefully, whoever he launched that tee marker into is alright (perhaps he somehow missed the people right there), but one would think that action would earn him some kind of reprimand or suspension. We’ve seen plenty of frustration taken out on clubs and tee markers before — Rory McIlroy smashed one at the U.S. Open — but hitting one towards fans standing right by the tee box is especially bad.
Even aside from that, a golfer being able to return to competition after withdrawing, even if just counting towards team play, is certainly a unique rule for LIV. I have a hard time imagining Koepka will be too interested in getting back on the course the next two days given how he handled himself here, and it’s likely one of the main stars of LIV won’t be on course the rest of the weekend.