Speculation had been swirling around Brooks Koepka for most of his final season with LIV Golf.
Koepka was the first major player to walk away from the league, and that decision was made public in December. It seemed like a move that had been building for some time.
The five-time major winner had not been shy about pointing out LIV’s shortcomings, saying ahead of the 2025 campaign that the league had not developed as much as he had expected.
Despite the issues, Koepka did not shy away from his responsibilities. He played an active role as team captain, even though there was talk about him not wearing the same kit as the rest of Smash GC.
Brooks Koepka’s time at LIV Golf in 2025
Koepka’s season did not go as planned. His last top-10 finish on the LIV tour was in March, and he failed to make the cut in three out of the four majors.
Off the course, the 35-year-old was dealing with some difficult personal news, which likely played a role in his form.
Despite that, it was not for lack of effort. On The Rick Shiels Golf Show, Rick Shiels pointed out how hard Koepka was working to get back on track.
“I think with Brooks, this is what I saw on the ground last year, he seemed very frustrated with something. Something was bothering him. And he was trying really, really, really hard to perform out on the golf course,” he began by saying.
“I saw him on multiple occasions throughout the year being the last person to leave the driving range. As I’ve said a million times before, these guys practice like crazy. I really felt like he wasn’t happy with something. He wasn’t happy with his game, he wasn’t happy with his performances, he wasn’t happy with how maybe he was being treated.
“He was kind of quite quiet last year, quite subdued, didn’t really show a lot of his own personality. We didn’t see the performances out of him out on the golf course that we’ve come to expect from Brooks Koepka. We didn’t see him perform at the majors as we’ve come to expect from Brooks Koepka. And he just seemed really, really frustrated.”
What Brooks Koepka’s role behind the scenes at LIV Golf looked like
Koepka’s decision to wear different clothing than his teammates fed the idea that he was not fully on board with LIV’s team concept.
But that might not tell the full story.
LIV has faced criticism for being unclear about how teams actually function. It is still not obvious whether signings are made by the teams themselves or by the league.
The notion of teams operating as independent businesses still feels a bit like window dressing. Yet, Shiels shed some light on just how involved Koepka was with Smash GC behind the scenes.
He explained: “I just want to go back on a comment I just said there about him feeling like a lone wolf, and he kind of was a bit, but also what was very unique with Brooks Koepka, as much as I’m saying all those things that it didn’t feel like he was part of a team, never mind the captain, he was actually the GM of his team.
“Again, this isn’t what the public often see with LIV teams, let’s say with Majesticks for argument’s sake, they have a full team behind Majesticks. You have the captains, but you have a full team behind them. They have social media teams, they have a fantastic team. Brooks Koepka was behind the scenes in meetings with other GMs. Smash didn’t have anyone that was solely managing their team. It was actually Brooks Koepka, which was wild.”
Given that context, it makes even more sense why Koepka chose to step away from LIV. Now back on the PGA Tour in 2026 and beyond, his attention is free from having to run an entire team.
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