Two moments after Brooks’ return, Koepka said something his golf couldn’t

Brooks Koepka returned to the PGA Tour this week. The five-time major winner looked a bit rusty but made the cut to play the weekend.

“I just wanted to play four rounds,” Koepka said Friday at the Farmer’s insurance opened.

Koepka will be the first to tell you he hasn’t played Brooks Koepka golf in the past year. He was a non-factor at the four majors last year and hasn’t really been heard from on the big stage since his 2023 PGA Championship victory at Oak Hill. During his pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday, Koepka did not want to pin the blame for his un-Brooks-like play on LIV Golf or the league’s schedule. He’s the one who didn’t execute. Simple and clear.

Kopeka said he is looking forward to getting back on the PGA Tour and competing against Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy more than four times a year. That means a lot to the great alpha of golf. But competitive enthusiasm was secondary to Koepka’s main reason for breaking away from LIV Golf and pursuing his return to the PGA Tour.

“Just my family,” Koepke said before the tournament about the biggest factor in his return. “A lot has happened with my family in the past five or six months. That played a big role in my return.

“It is very important that I have my family around me. I have matured a lot in recent years and especially in the last few months. It is very important for me to be close to them.”

So Koepka went to Torrey Pines on Thursday and shot a one-over 73 on the South Course. He drove poorly (six of 14 fairways) and lost 1,469 shots on the greens. There was no resounding statement from Koepka’s first 18 holes back. Golf is a sport that revolves around consistent success. A bad or mediocre round here and there means little in the big picture. Whether Koepka can return to his major championship killing form will be determined in the coming months.

But what happened after his first PGA Tour round in almost three years spoke volumes.

Koepka said ahead of the first round that he was nervous. Nervous for the media, the fans and some PGA Tour members who may still be upset about his initial decision to leave for LIV Golf. At first glance, that doesn’t sit well with Koepka, who famously cared little about anything other than winning majors. The brash, boastful great champion rarely bothered himself with the opinions of others.

So, what gives? Growing up – as Koepka put it – becoming a father and going through the ups and downs of life off the course gives you perspective. The passage of time has a way of illuminating all things.

“Just because I care,” Koepka said after the first round. “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.”

He was 14 shots behind 36-hole leader Justin Rose. The Brooks Koepka we’ve become accustomed to may find that irritating or see the entire prospect of a January tournament in San Diego as nothing more than practice repeats for what matters. It used to be nothing more than a shadfly to tolerate temporarily.

But there was Koepka, walking to the media after making the PGA Tour for the first time in almost three years, with his son Crew in his arms. Cameras caught Koepka asking Crew if he had seen any planes or anything cool during his afternoon in the Southern California sun. That’s why Koepka wanted to come back, for moments like that.

“It was great, it was great,” Koepka said as he was greeted by his wife and son after walking off the 18th green. “I don’t know the last time I made a cut and they’ve still been there. … It was nice to have them there. It felt good. I don’t know, my son doesn’t really know what’s going on, but it’s cool for me to have them here.”

Brooks Koepka is back on the PGA Tour. He will play at Torrey Pines over the weekend and tee off at the WM Phoenix Open next week. Those six or eight rounds will be unimportant in the bigger picture, both for Koepka the golfer and for Koepka the family man.

It is sometimes said that time is a river. One in which we go fishing, and one in which events create ripples – some disappearing quickly and others whose impact never leaves us.

Brooks Koepka returned to the PGA Tour for his family. As the San Diego sun washed over Brooks and Crew Koepka on Friday, there was a ripple in Koepka’s river — a ripple that might be as meaningful as any big putt.