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Brooks Koepka finally has a tee time at the Myrtle Beach Classic after weeks of waiting. This event marks his first individual stroke-play competition since the Masters.
Brooks Koepka, after a couple of weeks of waiting around for a tee time, finally has one at the Myrtle Beach Classic this week.getty images
Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young and the top-ranked golfers in the world are in Charlotte this week, about to tee off for the Truist Championship with a purse of $20 million on the line. And 175 miles away, Brooks Koepka is in Myrtle Beach, an opposite-field event, playing for a purse just one fifth that size.
Donāt feel too bad for the guys at the Myrtle Beach Classic, where a win is still worth 300 FedExCup points and a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour. But it is worth pointing out Koepka actually has a tee time this week, a feat that hasnāt been a guarantee lately. The Myrtle Beach Classic will be his first individual stroke-play event since the Masters (he also played the Zurich Classic) ā although not for lack of trying.
At Harbour Town for the RBC Heritage, Koepka waited to get in as an alternate but never had his name called. The same happened last week at the Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral, but again, no dice.
āWhen you sit around on Wednesday and Thursday and youāre practicing, youāre watching everybody else go play, itās not that much fun,ā Koepka said Wednesday from Dunes Golf and Beach Club in South Carolina. āIām just itching to play. I donāt care where Iām playing as long as Iāve got a chance to tee it up out here; Iām extremely excited and grateful for the opportunity.ā
āTis life for Koepka, who returned to the PGA Tour this year via the Returning Member Program after 3 1/2 years at LIV Golf. His World Ranking suffered while at LIV āĀ the league didnāt receive points until this season āĀ and per his agreement is not allowed to accept sponsor invites into Signature Events. He instead has to rely on playing well and improving his ranking to get in.
āListen, the way I look at it is Iām itching to get in, but Iām accepting of where Iām at, and I understand that thereās prices to pay for coming back, and Iām willing to accept those and whatever I have to do,ā Koepka said. āI knew this year was going to be challenging to even get in [Signature Events]. I kind of thought maybe by around U.S. Open, but to know that Iām kind of knocking on the door already is a good thing. Just the answer to everything is play better, and youāre in.ā
Brooks Koepka had to wait for a tee time because he was an alternate in previous tournaments and was not called to play.
The purse for the Myrtle Beach Classic is significantly smaller, at one fifth the size of the Truist Championship, which has a purse of $20 million.
Winning the Myrtle Beach Classic awards 300 FedExCup points and a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour.
Brooks Koepka's last individual stroke-play event before the Myrtle Beach Classic was the Masters.
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Koepka has played well this year. Heās cut both his FedEx Cup ranking (63rd) and World Ranking (127th) in half in four months. Heās finished top 20 four times and had strong showings at the Players Championship (T13) and Masters (T12).
Heās 36th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and third in Approach, which has helped make up for a struggling putter (141st).
āI feel like Iāve played better than my results,ā Koepka said. āI knew the first couple of weeks were going to be an adjustment. Then thereās an adjustment to the way the golf courses are set up too. So having to understand that and kind of go through and figure some things out, itās just different. Then coming back, first two weeks were a little bit more nervousness than anything. Then itās just a matter of getting comfortable with the golf courses, seeing how firm things are, the yardages theyāre playing. Itās a little different. There is a little bit of adjustment there.ā
Up the coast at Trump National D.C., LIV Golf members are talking about the uncertain future of their league and their future as players. Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton said Tuesday they still have several years left on their contracts. Bryson DeChambeau said he hasnāt ruled out YouTube golf. Koepka, meanwhile, has already left the league and knows what his future holds.
On Wednesday, he said the word āopportunityā four times. Heās hoping to make the most of them, and heās got more coming up too. After this week, he heads to Pennsylvania for the PGA Championship, a tournament heās won three times. Then itās off to Texas for the CJ Cup.
āComing back, Iāve said it before or earlier on in the year, I want to get back to being the best player that I can be and try to give myself the opportunities to see those dreams come true,ā Koepka said. āWhether they come true or not, who knows? But Iām going to give it my all for at least the next 10 years.ā
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