LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA | Of course, it mattered that the 8-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th hole at Torrey Pines South went in because it was the only birdie Brooks Koepka made when all eyes were on him Thursday. But it was the extended moment at the Farmers Insurance Open that was bigger than one round of golf.
Three and a half years after Koepka left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf and just a month after he was invited back, breaking the seal of a second chance, the concept became reality on a spectacular midwinter day.
While Koepka’s opening 1-over-par 73 on the ruggedly difficult South Course wasn’t bursting with highlights, the sentiments were nonetheless consistent with the warm, sunny, 72-degree day.
That’s why a large gallery gathered around the first tee around 9:30 a.m. to greet Koepka with more than a few “Welcome back, Brooksie” comments, as he hugged the first tee announcer and shared chat with playing mates Max Homa, Ludvig Åberg and their caddies as he struggled with his own nerves.
“It was great from the first tee. It actually relaxed me a bit. It made me feel good just to be here.” –Brooks Koepka
At his peak, when he won four of his five major championships in a two-year period, Koepka hardly seemed to care what the outside world thought of him. He exuded intimidation, confidence and swagger and if that didn’t warm everyone’s hearts, Koepka didn’t seem to care.
Thursday morning was different, although the swing and the walk seemed the same.
“Just because it interests me,” Koepka said when asked to explain his nervousness.
“I don’t really like to think ahead or anticipate what was going to happen, but I wasn’t sure, which is kind of weird because I feel uncomfortable, or you don’t really know. From the first tee it was great. It actually calmed me down a little bit. It made me feel good just to be here.”
The reception wasn’t as loud as what Tiger Woods got during his glory days here or what Rory McIlroy got in Augusta last April, but it was chilly.
As he walked from the first green to the second tee, two young boys waited by the ropes of the gallery to welcome Koepka back. He saw them and walked over to shake their hands. It was like that all day and Koepka, who has a tendency to bury his eyes under the bill of his cap, looked around and said thank you.
Koepka has been harassed before, it’s part of the game, and he’s accepted it, believing it’s part of the sport. This was the opposite and it helped explain his nervous anticipation.
“I just cared about my perception, what people thought or what the fans thought. It’s easy when you’re around the players and they come and talk to you or you talk to them or caddies or people around here, but for everyone else, I wasn’t sure,” Koepka said.
“I think I’ve fallen in love with the game again.” –Brooks Koepka
Koepka played a solid, if unspectacular, round on Thursday. He didn’t make any major mistakes, but nothing much happened either. It ran through his group, which combined to score 10 over par.
His 2025 season at LIV and in the Majors didn’t produce many highlights and it tempered early expectations for his return to the PGA Tour. It’s more than a return to familiar places that has renewed Koepka’s enthusiasm.
“I think I fell in love with the game again,” Koepka said.
His two-year-old son Crew has already started playing a bit and like other fathers before him, Koepka wants to share what he is doing with his son. He also had fourteen weeks between tournaments, the last few weeks of which saw his competitive future in flux. He didn’t know how the PGA Tour would respond to his request to return, even when he visited the tour’s headquarters in late December to meet with new CEO Brian Rolapp.
“It’s a lot of time off, a lot of time to think, a lot of time to reflect. When you do that on the couch for a while, you can go pretty deep on what you’re feeling. I’m just excited,” Koepka said.
The hardest part, Koepka said, was getting through his media session Tuesday morning, understanding the questions he would face and explaining what brought him back to the tour. When he reached the first tee on Thursday, his nerves were through the roof, but it wasn’t long before it felt like a new tournament again.
For all that comes with Koepka’s return — there’s the PGA Tour-LIV dynamic, Patrick Reed’s decision to follow Koepka later this year and the chance to build on what’s already a Hall of Fame resume — there’s a more fundamental aspect: feeling welcome on a tour he walked away from.
“I care about what everyone here thinks, what everyone does, and I’m just trying to be as good a person and a good player as I can be. I just wanted a warm welcome. Like anyone else, you walk into a room where no one wants to feel ostracized, they just want to be loved. I mean, that’s human nature, I guess,” Koepka said.
“I’m the only one in the whole world going through this situation, so it’s very hard to explain. But I’m enjoying it, I really am.”
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