Brooks Koepka is definitely competing in this week’s Genesis Scottish Open, no matter what you might have heard.
The five-time major winner was as surprised as anyone when news broke over the weekend that he had withdrawn from the tournament at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland.
The confusion only lasted a few hours until organizers confirmed Koepka had been granted a sponsor’s invitation, but not before he spent Sunday scrambling to find out what was happening.
“Yeah, there was a bit of a panic … I called my agent, Blake Smith, in a bit of a panic. Because I got a few text messages that I had withdrawn,” Koepka, 36, said at a press conference on Wednesday.
Koepka, who withdrew from last month’s RBC Canadian Open with a hand injury after the third round, said he looked on the PGA Tour app on his phone to double-check the news.
“Probably first time I used it in a while, since it got downloaded in my phone. I didn’t see any name, either, and I was in a little bit of a panic,” he said. “I knew (my agent) was out in Vegas. It’s 7 a.m. in Vegas. Probably not going to reach anybody. There was a few, probably two hours of complete panic of what had gone on. I couldn’t figure it out.”
Koepka has six top-20 finishes this season but has not played since missing the cut at the U.S. Open last month.
Koepka continues his transition from LIV Golf and a world tour type of schedule with his first appearance in Scotland’s national open since 2015. This will be his debut at The Renaissance Club, but finding a comfort zone in his return to a PGA Tour playing schedule hasn’t brought an ounce of regret, Koepka implied.
“I think I’ve been most pleased with — this is probably going to come across a little selfish, but just the happiness that I have. Maybe a weight lifted off my shoulders, or it’s not — kept it a secret for a little while. So it’s not the easiest thing,” he said.
“But I just see the happiness. I look at I’m able to be around my son a lot more. Jena is able to be around and they are able to travel to a lot more events. Things like that, that stuff brings me happiness.
“Whether I play good or whether I play bad, I walk off the 18th green, my wife and son are standing right there and, it’s cool, no matter — my son doesn’t care if I shoot 80 or 65, he doesn’t know the difference. It’s ‘Da-Da’; he goes that way and runs towards me. That’s cool. Having them around has been amazing and takes a little bit of the pressure way from when you’re playing.”
