– BROOKS KOEPKA –

His full return to PGA Tour transcript ahead of this weeks Farmers Insurance Open

MODERATOR: We’ll go ahead and get started. We are beyond excited to welcome Brooks Koepka into the interview room here at the Farmers Insurance Open.
Brooks, we’re excited to have you. I’m going to go right ahead into questions, so if you have a question, please raise your hand, I’ll get a mic to you.

Q. Brooks, along with trying to figure out who half this field is since you probably don’t know them, this being your first Tour event since ’22, does this feel like you’re just resuming or does it feel different, and if it feels different, how is it different?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I think it feels a little bit different. I’m definitely a little bit more nervous this week just coming back. But it feels good. I’m super grateful to be back.
Yeah, there’s a lot of guys I don’t know over the past I guess three and a half years. There’s a lot of new faces, but excited to meet those guys and feel like I’m part of the Tour.

Brooks Koepka all smiles as he returns to a PGA Tour range #brookskoepka #pgatour #golf #golfswing #golfaddict
pic.twitter.com/Nilvya4Hxp

— Golf Digest ME (@GolfDigestME) January 27, 2026

Q. What did you miss most about playing on the PGA TOUR?
BROOKS KOEPKA: That’s a good question. I think the ability to have my family out all the time. I think that was one thing because they didn’t travel too much over the last few years. But like they’re going to be out this week, so I
am super excited to be able to have them out.

Q. Brooks, what were some of the most important factors that went into making this decision to come back?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Just my family. A lot’s gone on over the past five, six months with my family. That played a big role into coming back.
Then just having conversations with my wife, my team and being able to make that decision to come back was — was I guess tough conversations, but it was what was best for me and best for my family. I think that was a decision that my wife, myself, everybody, my team thought that that was best as well.

Q. Do you get a sense that PGA TOUR will give you a little bit more flexibility in terms of scheduling and travel and having your family on the road?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, yeah, they’ll definitely be out quite a bit more. Yeah, like I said, my wife’s coming this week, my son’s coming this week and they’re going to come next week as well, so that will be super exciting to have them out. Just having my family around’sreally important. I’ve grown up a lot over the last few years and especially the last few
months. Just being able to be close to them is super important to me.

Brooks Koepka returns to the PGA Tour for a first regular Tour event since the April 2022 Valspar Championship. Image PGAS Tour

Q. Brooks, you mentioned the circumstances have changed about the last year. I know this is hindsight, but if you could go back to 2022, would you do anything different?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I don’t regret anything I do. I’ve learned a lot. I’ve always enjoyed the ride no matter where I’m at. I think that’s one thing that’s — you also learn from anything, anything you’re doing, so I have no regrets.
But at the same time, I’m excited for this new chapter, grateful to be out here. For Brian Rolapp, Jay, Tiger, everybody that was able to get me out here, I’m super grateful for it and I’m excited.

Q. Can you talk about obviously returning to a course like Torrey Pines, the challenge that it presents, because obviously it’s a challenging course here in San Diego?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, the last time we were back was — or I was back was 20 — when did we have The Open, ’22? ’21. So yeah, I spent a lot of time, I used to have a trainer out here so I used to come out here. I spent a lot of time in La Jolla. It’s nice to be back. It’s obviously a tough golf course. It’s fun to play, but it will really give me an idea where my game’s at.

Q. You touched on it I believe there, but can you walk us through at all kind of the timeline of when you started maybe thinking about making a return and what that process even looks like of how you get to this point?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah. I would say — I’m not going to get into too much detail about the family issues that we’ve had, but yeah, I believe it was September, right around the Ryder Cup week, we had to be in New York, we were up there for a little bit. Circumstances kind of changed in my family a little bit. Then that’s when I guess things started to change and
evolve and just started to have those conversations of what’s best for my family. So we took it from there.
Then I was — me and LIV, we left that agreement, everybody was happy with it. They understood the situation that I was in. Just excited to be out here. So I made that — I think the 23rd I was released and then called Tiger right away, then that process got the ball rolling.

Q. Obviously you would have to play your way into Signatures and things like that this year. I’m curious mentally how you approach this year kind of differently. It’s  more of you have to grind to make your way into things and maybe not necessarily playing the big —
BROOKS KOEPKA: That’s the fun part, I love the grind, I’ve always enjoyed it. I guess it’s a fresh start for me, which is cool. It’s just another chapter I guess in my book. I’m excited for that. I feel like my game’s in pretty good shape and I want to see where it’s at. Obviously this week is a little bit different. But yeah, would just like to get this week over and just feel like I can start playing golf again. I’m super excited.

Q. On a different note, for gear dorks like myself, you’re a bit of a legend with the Nikes still in the bag, the M2 still in the bag. My question for you is, with a lot of stuff that’s come out recently that’s really, really good, have you tested anything recently that could have a chance to fight that stuff out of the bag?
BROOKS KOEPKA: No. I haven’t really tested anything. I’ve been, I’m not a tinkerer. If something works, something works and I don’t really switch up. I like everything that I’ve got in the bag. I feel like I have a good understanding of the control, where the misses are. Yeah, I haven’t really tinkered with anything, man. I like my bag setup
right now.

Q. Were you — are you able to — have you been able to set some goals for this season and what would a successful season look like for you?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I think obviously winning, I think that would be nice. Yeah, kind of touched on that question earlier, I’ve got to play well. You play good golf, everything takes care of itself. I’d like to try to get in those Signature events and play well, but I understand I’ve got to earn that and I’m looking forward to that challenge. It would be
something where it will be a little different spot and I’ve got to work my tail off and I’m excited about that. We’ll see what happens, but I would love to come out and get a win.

Q. Brooks, last year at the U.S. Open you said that you were tough to be around for a while given some of your struggles. Just curious, did your year on the course, the struggles on the course have anything to do with that decision at all?
BROOKS KOEPKA: No, no, not at all. I was going through, going through a lot of things. I didn’t talk about it, but yeah, it was definitely more of a difficult family situation with what was going on. There’s a lot of things going on. Sometimes that can I guess relate to play a little bit. I don’t know if that’s what it was. I don’t know, I don’t really have an answer for that, but I know sometimes when your mind’s free, I think you look at Scottie right now, when your
mind’s free, sometimes it’s easier to go play golf and play your best.

Q. Were there any — to get out of your contract, were there any financial or other things that you had to do to sew that up, so to speak?
BROOKS KOEPKA: No, I’m super grateful for Yasir and Scott, the way they handled things. I’d like to keep that all internal. They were great to deal with and I’m just happy and fortunate enough to be out here now.

Q. Brooks, a couple for you. Do you think the PGA TOUR is better now as a Tour than it was when you left to go to LIV?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I’m two days in, so I don’t really know.

Q. From what you’ve observed?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, maybe I can answer that question a little better because I feel like there’s a lot of things that I’m still trying to figure out how things work. It’s kind of like a readjustment period. Yeah, if you ask that question later on in the year I might be able to give you a better answer.

Q. And you touched on just the newness of it all again. When you say that you’re nervous more than usual maybe, where do the nerves come from coming into this week in terms of just seeing people again or how you’re going to play? How are you feeling about things?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I think the nervousness probably was more for this, to get this out of the way to be quite fair. I’m excited just to — maybe a little bit antsy to get to Thursday just so I can get back to playing golf and that’s where I feel the most comfortable.
But I was definitely nervous just for this. Seeing guys, I mean, I was kind of overwhelmed at the text messages that I received from guys, guys on both sides and I think that was — it meant a lot to me. And like I said, I’m grateful, I’m excited and I just want to get back to playing golf.

Q. How many guys yesterday do you feel like you had a conversation more than just hello? Was it a lot?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I don’t know. I mean, there’s maybe 10 to 15 guys that came up and said something. A lot of caddies. It’s tough to kind of put a number on it. Yeah, it was a lot of “good to see you, glad you’re back.”
Yeah, I would say, yeah, maybe 15 guys. And then I’m not going to — there’s 15 guys, 20 caddies, just random people, just people from the Tour. Yeah, that number jumps when you look at it that way outside of the players.

Q. Did you appreciate the feelings that you got from guys?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, it’s always — I think everybody in this room would say the same thing, it’s always good to feel wanted and to be accepted. I think that’s — you see that from a little kid to now, everybody wants the same thing.

Q. Brooks, I’ve got two quick ones for you. If the PGA — in your opinion, do you think the PGA should open the door to more players?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I’m two days back into this. I’m not trying to get into the politics of it all. I’m just happy that I have this opportunity and I need to take advantage of it. That’s all I’m really focused on and going back and playing golf.

Q. Do you think — can the PGA and LIV battle be fixed or settled do you think in your
opinion?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I have no clue. I’ve not been a part of the conversations on either side. It’s out of my hands and my job is to go play golf and tee it up on Thursday.

Q. A couple for you, Brooks. As part of the returning member program, there were a couple other players that were kind of looped in with that. I’m curious if anybody on LIV has reached out to you about your decision into the process and why you decided to maybe come back and try to pick your brain a little bit?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Nobody’s picked my brain. I’ve got a few text messages from guys that are still on LIV, they’re reaching out. I think they understood the situation for what we were going through with my family, whether the wives have communication there. So I think everybody fully understands the situation that we were in maybe more than everybody else.
I don’t know how much has been actually publicized. Yeah, they understood that and they
just wished me the best and to always do what’s best for you.

Q. And you mentioned that Tiger was the first person you called when you got your release. Why Tiger, and if you don’t mind sharing with us maybe what was that conversation like?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, called him. I’ve always had a good relationship with Tiger. I feltlike that was — that was what I wanted to do. I wanted to — once I had the opportunity to guess get reinstated on PGA TOUR, it was exciting and kind of really didn’t know what to do. That was the first person that kind of came to mind.
I didn’t know Brian, I didn’t have a relationship with him obviously just because he’s pretty new. And Jay, Jay was going to be the next call. I felt like Tiger was somebody that I’ve relied on in the past for questions and answers and how to deal with things and I felt like that was maybe the most comfortable call for me.

Q. Just a couple. You obviously mentioned Tiger, you spoke to him. Were there any other people you spoke with throughout the process that kind of helped shape the decision or influenced the decision in any way?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Just my family, my family and my team. I’m very, very close with everybody on my team and I value their opinion and what they have to say. You know, everybody pretty much said the same thing, you’ve got to do what’s best for you and your family.

Q. You mentioned earlier you feel like you’ve grown a lot the last few years. What are some ways which you would I guess indicate that that’s been the case for yourself?BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, having a two-and-a-half-year-old will make you grow up pretty quick. Yeah, it’s so much fun. I guess being a dad, being a father has made me grow as a person. Definitely try to give him the best example, best way to live and that’s what I’m trying to do.
I think as everybody in this room goes through phases in life and that’s kind of the phase I’m in now, is trying to make sure I set a good example for him and do what’s best for my family.

Q. Couple quick things, Brooks. When you came in yesterday, do you recall the very first person you saw, player, whether it was parking lot, locker room, putting green,whatever, first guy you ran into that you recognized?

BROOKS KOEPKA: It was kind of a whirlwind, to be honest with you. First player I saw. I don’t know, I can’t — honestly, I know we all get in this thing, but it was all a bit of chaos and sometimes you just go into a blur. I was more excited just to go hit putts and just feel like I’m back in some kind of normalcy, that’s where I’m most comfortable, right? So to believe able to do that was nice. It might have been Rosy, Rosy, was the first person I saw, but I saw Rosy a couple weeks ago.

Q. So doesn’t really count. Secondly, have you and the Tour decided on the charitable donation?
BROOKS KOEPKA: No. There’s still some conversations that need to be had with the Tour and myself and figure out what the parameters are on that. Once those are figured out, we’ll be doing it.

Q. And then lastly, your record in the majors the last couple years has not been all that great and it made me

BROOKS KOEPKA: Thanks for pointing it out.

Q. Well, it’s right there in black and white, buddy.
BROOKS KOEPKA: Don’t I know it.

Q. You’re the one that shoots it. Just made me wonder though, how much have you been able to prepare properly?
Basically, has the LIV schedule do you think affected your preparations going into
majors?
BROOKS KOEPKA: It doesn’t matter preparation. If you don’t play well those weeks, I mean, it’s tough to, No. 1, make a cut in a major, and then to win one is extremely difficult. Everything’s kind of got to go your way, bounces have to be right, you have to have some luck.
If you’re just not playing — I mean, I just didn’t play good last year. I don’t think, maybe the end of ’24, just wasn’t playing that great. So it’s tough to — I’m not going to put an excuse on anything else other than I’m the one holding the club, I’m the one who’s got to execute everything and I just didn’t do a good enough job.
Q. What’s your expectation for how you’ll be received by the fans when you tee it up on Thursday?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Maybe that’s what — maybe I’m a little nervous about that as well just to see how, I guess, how the fans respond to it. I hope that they’re excited. I hope that they’re happy that I’m out here. You know, hopefully that goes, at least the conversations
I’ve had with players that they’re excited that I’m back and happy to see me play.

Q. And is there anything in particular you’ll miss about LIV and what did you miss the most about the PGA TOUR?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I think maybe just being around the guys, right, because we’re not — everybody’s not around each other all the time. I think sometimes, I mean we’re all one big traveling circus, right? That’s kind of what it is. It’s fun and I’m going to miss some of those guys, seeing those guys pretty much week to week out there. The relationships I’ve
built with those guys and not seeing them all the time, that will be quite different.
But at the same time there’s a lot of people out here that I haven’t seen in four years and I haven’t got to be around them as much, so I’m excited for that as well.

Q. When you decided not to play LIV for 2026, did you have any inclination that you would be welcomed back so quickly?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I did not know. I just wanted to — I knew that I wanted to come out and see where — how things would fall. I did not know where — that I was going to be coming back this quickly. Obviously the decisions that Brian and everybody made, we’re super grateful for them. I’m happy that it was this quick, but I was prepared for whatever they were going to ask or they were going to tell me.

Q. And then since you went, Scottie has emerged as this worldbeater, Rory’s gotten equal with you with five majors. Knowing how competitive you are, is there part of you that’s excited to face off with those guys more than just a couple times a year?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I’m super excited about. Obviously Scottie’s been dominant I guess is probably the right word. Yeah, Rory’s got five now. I don’t think anybody’s shocked by this if you’ve watched golf over the last few years, how well those guys are playing.
I’m excited to battle with them. I think that will be really fun. I think just the competitive side of me, obviously, you obviously want to do a little bit better but that’s going to be very tough to do better than Scottie right now. But yeah, I’m excited for it. I want to play with those guys, see where I’m at and how I can get better. That’s the whole goal every day, trying to practice and being out here is just get a little bit better and I’m excited about that.

Q. When it was first announced a couple weeks ago you were coming back, I think you might have told Doug that you might have to have some tough conversations with some guys who might not be as gracious. I don’t know if any of that has occurred yet, but do you think that some of that might be subsided by the fact that they’ve created this thing where they’re going to actually add to the fields that you’re playing in? I don’t know how much you looked into that, but they’re actually adding guys because of you.
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah.

Q. Have any of those conversations taken place or are you still concerned about it?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Did you say am I concerned about it?

Q. Yeah.
BROOKS KOEPKA: I’m looking forward to all those conversations, right? Not everybody’s going to have the same opinion, that’s the exciting part about this, right? There are some guys that are happy to see me back and some guys that won’t and I understand that. Like I said, that will be the fun part of having those conversations. Some of them might be tougher than others, but at the same time it’s the opportunity I was given and I think anybody that I guess is in my shoes that has the opportunity to come back and the position that I was in, I was going to take it. I wasn’t just going to not play. If they gave me an opportunity to play, I wanted to play.

Q. Do you know what you’re planning to do schedule wise beyond next week? Have you decided anything affirmative yet?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah. Obviously not in a lot of elevated events, Signature Events. So that would be interesting the way the year’s kind of planned.
I’ve got this week, Waste Management, Cognizant, that’s what I know of right now. Then try play as much as I can I guess before leading up to Augusta.

Q. You’re in THE PLAYERS, right?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yes, sir.

Q. So assuming we would see you there, too?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, yeah, that will be a good assumption, yeah.

Q. Brooks, welcome back. Do you do anything unique pre-round in your warmups or anything that you do every tournament that’s just consistent to you?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah. I mean, my whole routine’s pretty consistent, I think. Usually go to the gym in the morning and then come out here, get stretched out, go hit a few putts, go hit some balls, go chip a little bit, go back and putt and go right back to the tee. I keep it very simple.

Q. Nothing unique to maybe just you versus other guys?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Every player has their own routine and kind of what gets the best out of them. I think — been playing golf a long time, so it’s a lot of trial and error, but it’s fun. Sometimes you feel like you need a little bit more time on the range or a littlemore time on the putting green so things might shift a little bit, but pretty much it’s
bit always the same.
MODERATOR: Brooks, thanks so much for your time and best of luck this week.