Koepka played the back nine on the South Course on the day he arrived as a footnote in PGA Tour history as the first member to defect to LIV Golf and then be allowed to return. He asked about the two ways players can gain access to the $20 million signature events.
“Man, I’ve got a lot of catching up to do,” he said, not even considering all the changes still in the works for a new schedule.
It all starts for him at the Farmers Insurance Open when Koepka plays his first PGA Tour event (excluding the majors) since losing to Dustin Johnson in the 2022 Match Play quarterfinals.
“I think it’s a new start for me, and that’s cool,” Koepka said, admitting he might be more nervous than usual about the reactions he might get.
It probably helped that a day before he returned to PGA Tour competition, Patrick Reed announced that he was also done with the Saudi-funded LIV Golf League and would return later this year.
“Is it a coincidence? I don’t know,” Adam Scott said of two LIV players who announced within a few weeks they would be returning to the PGA Tour. “I think it is inevitable given the structure in which they (LIV) operate with expiring contracts.
“As far as the PGA Tour goes, I think it benefits from having more good players here.”
It has given momentum to the first tournament of the year on network television. CBS has a weekend. And there is so much interest in the return of Koepka, a five-time major champion, that ESPN will have coverage on its flagship channel Thursday and Friday from noon to 3 p.m. EST. This will be almost the first time in two decades that ESPN will provide live coverage of a regular PGA Tour event.
Torrey Pines already has some appeal because of its location (a good forecast helps), a public course on the edge of the Pacific Ocean with a tournament dating back to 1952, although most of its history starts with Tiger Woods winning eight times as a pro, including the 2008 US Open.
This also marks the 2026 debut of Xander Schauffele, the two-time major champion and San Diego native who hasn’t played since his victory in Japan last fall.
And it has a pair of defending champions.
Harris English won the tournament last year, a special moment for him because the Georgia native fell in love with Torrey Pines when his father brought him along as a child on his first trip to California.
He was recently at another tournament when someone looked at Ludvig Aberg about his win and Engels and said, “He’s won more recently than me.”
The Genesis Invitational had to be moved to Torrey Pines last year due to the deadly Pacific Palisades wildfires near Riviera, and Aberg held off a strong field throughout.
“We’re kind of both on defense coming into this week,” English said.
Koepka’s return came with some conditions attached, along with a two-player bonus. Koepka must make a $5 million charitable donation, will be barred from PGA Tour stock for five years, can’t get an exemption from signature events and can’t get FedEx Cup bonus money this year.
And to make sure no one is bothered by his return, the tour said Koepka would be added to the field when he plays. It also wants to make sure the opening rounds are all threesomes, so Koepka playing means two more players are in the mix.
“Thanks, Brooks,” said Lanto Griffin, the 147th player in what would otherwise be a 144-man field.
Griffin is on conditional status from finishing No. 125 in the FedEx Cup the first year the tour decided only the top 100 could keep full tickets. This is his favorite tournament on the schedule, and a week ago he lost hope as a seventh alternate.
But then a few players decided not to play and Griffin started calculating as he moved up the alternate list. Leaving nothing to chance, he was on the 11th hole in the cart checking out the course used for qualifying when he heard that another player might withdraw.
“On Monday morning my wife said I was three out, and then Michael Kim pulled out. That means I’m in,” Griffin said. “I texted Brooks’ caddy and they said they were definitely playing. Very happy.”
Koepka doesn’t have a great history at Torrey Pines, other than his tie for fourth at the 2021 US Open. He missed the cut three times and finished in 41st place at the Farmers Insurance Open. He has broken par just twice in 10 rounds in the PGA Tour event.
And now he’s been the center of attention for a week for reasons he couldn’t have imagined when he first played at Torrey in 2015. Koepka says he’s excited. Another part of him, unsure of what to expect, looks ahead.
“I would like to get this week over with and feel like I can get back to playing golf,” Koepka said.
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