Brooks Koepka has had a good run in the Breakaway League’s 2024 schedule. He has bagged five top-10 finishes, which include two victories (LIV Golf Singapore, and Greenbrier). Looks like he might be on the verge of grabbing a third one too this year. Koepka has a whopping four-stroke lead ahead of Paul Casey, who is at the solo second. After the opening round of the Individual Championship in Chicago, he currently stands at 8-under 62. But yet, there’s one thing that never seems to leave him.
Plagued by anger and disdain throughout the whole 2024 season, he cut a same figure in his latest appearance at the LIV Golf Chicago tournament Press Conference on September 13. But before we get to the meat of the story…
The spotlight has also shined brightly on Jon Rahm and his LIV shenanigans. I mean, who doesn’t remember his clear distaste for the 54-hole, no-cut format of LIV Golf? But in a surprise move, the Spaniard—who pledged his loyalty to the PGA Tour multiple times—left. It all came down to money with a whopping $500 million reportedly being kept aside for Rahm. But that couldn’t save him from the swirling rumors of his unhappiness with the Saudi-backed tour.
New York Post cited a veteran who said Rahm’s having “deep regrets” over his move—shortly before the 29-year-old nipped the gossip at the bud. In an interview with the publication, he firmly stated, “There’s zero validity to what any of that said. I don’t know where it came from. I don’t know why they feel the need to say that some of us are unhappy when we’re not. It’s one of the things that frustrates me a little bit, the fact that they can claim that there’s a source and there’s zero truth to it.”
Polls of the day
Couple that with the former World No.1’s reaction to his first LIV individual win in the UK, and we’ve got a man who’s happy and committed to his new venture. He even got emotional when he got to know that he was leading the Individual standings with Joaquin Niemann right behind him.
As for Koepka, his opinions plainly differ from his opponent. The US golfer has appeared twice at the Bolingbrook Golf Club and has not yet had a chance to win. Although he would be happy to win, that’s not his ultimate aim. “Yeah, you can look at it. It’s great to win, but you want to be consistent, as well, and that’s where I think I’ve lacked”, said the 2023 PGA Championship winner.
He once again expressed how sad he was for not having a great Major run, and that is, according to him, how all the players base their season on. “The majors were terrible. I put a lot of emphasis on those, and just cutting those wasn’t — that’s how I judge my year”, he added. Notably, Koepka has failed to bag even a top-25 finish in either of the four Majors.
If Brooks Koepka can keep up with his momentum, he might end up winning the event. But what is at stake for him if he bags the trophy in Chicago?
There’re millions of dollars waiting for Koepka!
The Individual Championship boasts a prize money of $25 million. If Brooks Koepka ends up winning in Chicago, he will take home a whopping $4 million! Apart from that, this will also be the decider of the Player of the Year for 2024. This is a battle between the Legion XIII captain and the Torque GC Captain.
We all know Koepka’s financials have always been important to him. In fact, that was the sole reason he left the PGA Tour, isn’t it? “I’m gonna be honest with you: I signed for the dough,” he said in October last year on Jake Paul’s BS podcast, before adding, “I’m 100 percent behind that. Tomorrow I can go get in a car accident and never play golf again and my family’s taken care of. And that was a big thing for me, like, I’m not doing it for anything else. Everybody else, they go to their 9 to 5, most people don’t like their 9 to 5 but they’re doing it because of their paycheck, and that is the same thing as us.”
Reports suggested he signed a four year, $100 million dollar deal with LIV. Then, in 2024, his two wins put his earnings around $11.8 million dollars. His total earnings from the series so far? A whopping $38.8 million—$33.5 million in individual winnings and $5 million in team-based winnings.
As for Chicago, whoever has a better finish will take home an additional bonus of $18 million for their year-long performance apart from their prize money. Despite such a good run, Koepka is still convinced that having won the Majors would have brought him a better year. What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section below!
