World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler excited about Brooks Koepka’s return from LIV Golf
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World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is happy that big-name players like Brooks Koepka are returning to the PGA Tour.
PHOTO: AFP
LOS ANGELES – Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler sees the return of LIV Golf players to the PGA Tour as a start to having the world’s best talent competing beyond Major events.
The American, who won his 20th career PGA Tour title on Jan 25, returns this week to the Arizona site of his first victory at the 2022 Phoenix Open.
He won his 2026 season-opener at the American Express and seeks another crown at TPC Scottsdale, where he and five-time Major winner Brooks Koepka, back from LIV, will compete.
“I think people want the best people playing together again, so when it comes to great players like Brooks or Patrick Reed, having those guys competing out here is great for the tour, the fans and our sponsors,” the 29-year-old said.
“So I think getting those guys back is another step towards us just being able to play golf again.”
Reed, the 2018 Masters champion, plans a PGA Tour return from LIV in 2027.
Koepka made his PGA comeback last week at the Farmers Insurance Open. The 35-year-old said that he has not had hard talks with players unhappy with his return.
“I haven’t had any difficult ones. Just ‘happy to see you back, we’re glad you back,’ type of things. But then again, there’s still a lot of guys I haven’t seen,” he added.
World No. 16 Viktor Hovland welcomes stronger competition, but the Norwegian warns that the PGA Tour has issues to consider.
“It does kind of put the tour in a tricky position now,” he said. “You’ve said one thing for a long time and now we’re changing things. What precedent are you setting then to the future players now if I can go to a rival tour, get paid, and now seemingly come back again without the biggest consequences?
“That’s something the tour has to figure out.”
Over at LIV, Bryson DeChambeau is entering the final year of his contract.
The two-time US Open champion is not too keen on one of the recent changes made by the Saudi-funded tour.
Case in point, the shift in format from 54 to 72 holes.
“It’s definitely changed away from what we had initially been told it was going to be,” he said.
“I’ve got a contract for this year and we’ll go through it there and see what happens after that. Look, it’s 72 holes, it’s changed, but we’re still excited to play professionally and play for what we’re doing. Is it what we ultimately signed up for? No. So I’m a little indifferent to it right now.” AFP, REUTERS
