Brooks Koepka played unreal golf during his time at Augusta, but the LIV Golf captain was unable to hold a 54-hole lead, as John Rahm won the Masters on Sunday. Rahm defeated Koepka and Phil Mickelson by four strokes en route to his second major title.
Koepka tied with Mickelson for second, while 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed tied for fourth at 7 under. While a LIV golfer didn’t come away with the green jacket, Koepka sent a harsh message to critics and those who have doubted the professional golf tour, which is funded by the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia
“We’re still the same people,” Koepka said via ESPN. “So I mean, I know if I’m healthy, I know I can compete. I don’t think any of the guys that played this event thought otherwise, either. When Phil plays well, we know he’s going to compete. Reed, the same thing.
“I think that’s just manufactured by the media that we can’t compete anymore; that we are washed up.”
The notion that a player like Koepka was washed up more so had to do with him falling to 118th in the Official World Golf Ranking. Koepka missed the last two cuts at the Masters after dislocating his right knee cap and tearing his patella tendon back in 2021.
LIV Golf had something to prove this past week at Augusta and Mickelson, Reed and Koepka, among others, sure let their play do the talking. Though, in the end, it was Jon Rahm who won one of the sport’s most prestigious tournaments.
[ESPN]
