Heading into the final regular-season event of the PGA Tour season, Brooks Koepka needed to conjure some magic.
The five-time major winner left LIV and rejoined the PGA Tour in January, and the expectation was that the 36-year-old would pick up right where he left off, given the eight wins he had accumulated between 2015 and 2021. (Koepka won his 9th PGA Tour event and fifth major, the 2023 PGA Championship, while playing as a member of LIV Golf.)
But Koepka’s Tour re-entry didn’t produce the level of performance he was hoping for — at least relatively speaking. He made 10 of 15 cuts with six top-25 finishes, but never really contended for a title.
He entered this week’s Wyndham Championship ranked 86th in the FedEx Cup points standings — well short of the top-70 threshold needed to continue on to next week’s FedEx St. Jude, but close enough that a win in Greensboro would push him over the edge.
But it was not to be.
After posting rounds of 67-66-74-70 (-3), Koepka is projected to fall even farther back in the standings to No. 93. After his final round, which included two bogeys and a double on his final five holes, Koepka offered a searing assessment of his season.
“Ball-struck it great. It’s just all on the greens,” he said. “I don’t know what the deal is, got zero confidence, can’t putt. I don’t know. There’s going to be a lot of changes here soon.
“I think it’s pretty pathetic that I can’t get through,” Koepka continued. “Zero top-10s basically in two years. To be in the prime of your career and be as good as I think I am, I think that’s very pathetic, disappointing. Just need to go home and
completely reevaluate everything.”
Koepka said he plans to play a couple of DP World Tour events later this year, as well as some FedEx Cup Fall events. Despite his disappointment in his performance, Koepka said he’s happy with his decision to return to the PGA Tour.
“It’s been great,” he said. “Honestly, I’ve loved it. I feel fantastic. The reception’s been great. Overall happiness is 10 out of 10 and just excited.”
The FedEx Cup playoffs will comprise a three-week stretch of tournaments starting with next week’s FedEx St. Jude. The FedEx Cup Fall begins on September 17 with the Biltmore Championship in Asheville, N.C.