Brooks Koepka’s “deep” career question has already been answered

Brooks Koepka couldn’t find the words. Now firmly back on the PGA Tour, Koepka, a five-time major champion and one of the defining players of his generation, was faced with a big question this week. It was the kind of question that only those who have already etched their names in history face, but Koepka was unsure how to answer as his comeback on the PGA Tour continued.

What do you want your legacy to be?

“I don’t know,” Koepka said Wednesday during the Cognizant Classic. “I feel like that’s a really deep question. I don’t know what I want my legacy to be. I don’t really think about it. I just try to be the best person, the best golfer I can be, and wherever things end up, they work out. I just don’t want to look back at the end of my career and say, man, I could have really put more effort into it and just give it everything I’ve got, give it 100 percent, and try to win as many tournaments as possible and all that.” to be possible.” dedicated as I can to the game.

Maybe at first glance, Koepka doesn’t know what he wants his legacy to be. To think about legacy is to think about mortality, to come to terms with the end, and to imagine a time when you are not who you are and have always been. But athletes whose achievements will resonate for generations – those who have done things few can lay claim to – often have an idea of ​​how they will be remembered. They tell us that in the way they work to change or strengthen it. That’s why the losses and misses often mean more than the wins. These, as Scottie Scheffler noted, are often transient.

Koepka’s big wins didn’t come at a young age like Tiger, Rory or Spieth, but once he broke through, one win turned into four in no time. He almost immediately became the great killer of his generation. Four majors is a lot ofbut if you win four, everyone starts wondering whether you win eight, nine or ten. You probably too. Four majors in three years could be the first line of Koepka’s World Golf Hall of Fame plaque. But the heart of it will be about his persona as a big game hunter – golf’s elite competitor who showed up in elite tournaments and elevated himself in the moments that really mattered.

Injury and poor play in 2022 left Koepka consumed with doubt. He wasn’t sure if he would ever be who he once was again. He joined LIV Golf and then built himself back up. He won the 2023 PGA Championship, eclipsing Rory McIlroy’s grand total and becoming the defining major winner of his era (McIlroy has now equaled him). The doubts disappeared and revealed who Koepka is at his core: someone who, like his childhood idol Tiger Woods, enjoys the grind. The payoff is nice, but it’s all that leads to that; the discipline, the consistency and the struggle that makes it worth it.

“This is probably the sweetest of them all because of all the hard work that went into it,” Koepka said in 2023 at Oak Hill.

When Koepka returned to the Farmers Insurance Open, he talked about doing it for his family. He wanted to be closer to them and spend more time with them. He’s a father now and that changes you. But he also wants his son to see who his father is and what made him great in the arena that built the legacy he would rather not think about.

“Just because I care,” Koepka said about why he was nervous at Torrey Pines. “I think I’ve fallen in love with the game again. And honestly, I see my son playing a little bit and I want to be able to see him watching me, or I guess I want him to see me play well and realize how much this game has given me and how much fun it is and how cool it is to just be here.”

Koepka has dodged questions about LIV, the future of the PGA Tour and politics since his return. It would be atypical if he did anything else. As it always has been, Koepka’s focus is on his game and where it measures up, especially against Scottie Scheffler and McIlroy, whom Koepka has only faced in the Majors for the past three-plus years.

“I’m excited to compete with them,” Koepka said. “I think that will be a lot of fun. I think it’s just the competitive side of me. Obviously you want to do a little bit better, but it’s going to be really hard to do better than Scottie right now. I’m excited about it. I want to play with those guys, see where I am and how I can get better.”

Koepka doesn’t need to find words to describe what he wants his legacy to be. His actions and his play have already answered that question. He is one of only 21 men to earn five majors. There was a six-year period when he was ubiquitous at the events that define the golf season. He left for human reasons and returned for the same reason. His desire was not to be a trophy or a token of either side, but to see if he could push himself to the top again.

On Thursday at the CognizantKoepka hit the ball well in windy conditions, but lost more than two strokes on the greens. He entered Friday outside the cutline, but a hand adjustment on the putter helped him shoot a four-under 66 to move inside the top 30 and get a weekend tee time at a course where anything can happen.

Afterwards, Koepka, who failed to finish in the top 50 in his first two starts on the PGA Tour, was asked if he considered the battle to make the cut a minor “victory.” Unlike Wednesday, Koepka had no trouble finding the words and offered a glimpse of the old Koepka, the one who has already told us how he will be remembered.

“No,” he said. “If I’m here to try to cut back, I’m probably done.”

But those final chapters are still being written.

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