There is no question that Brooks Koepka was the star attraction in the field for the Farmers Insurance Open this past week, with the five-time major champion making his return to the PGA Tour.
The golfing world had known for a little while that Brooks Koepka would be making his first PGA Tour start at the Farmers Insurance Open. It was not a tournament that he had the best record at previously.
What are your takes from Brooks Koepka’s first showing back on the PGA Tour?
Are you more or less encouraged that he can compete in 2026
But of course, much of the focus was on how the 35-year-old would be received. Koepka became the first player to actively look to leave LIV Golf in the hope of returning to the PGA Tour.
Most players spoke positively about the prospect of Koepka coming back. But Koepka was definitely nervous about returning at Torrey Pines.
Johnson Wagner discusses the reception Brooks Koepka received at the Farmers Insurance Open
Unfortunately, it was not the best week for Koepka on the course. He did manage to make the cut, but ended up finishing tied for 56th. He finished 19 shots back of Justin Rose.
The good news is that Koepka was given an incredibly warm reception by the spectators. In fact, speaking to CBS Sports, Johnson Wagner admitted that he was taken aback by just how the fans behaved towards him.
“The crowds were amazing and overwhelmingly positive. I thought I would hear some negative things. Not one comment that I heard was negative towards Brooks. Now as we look forward to him playing in Phoenix this week, maybe that will change,” he said.
Wagner issues his verdict on Brooks Koepka’s golf game at Torrey Pines
Koepka’s performance provided flashes of brilliance. There was enough there to believe that he will be able to contend at some stage of the season.
Koepka criticised his putting performance, but his long game would have definitely been a positive given how much he struggled for the majority of 2025.
Wagner went on to issue his full verdict on the state of Koepka’s game after watching it up close all week at Torrey Pines.
“I was blown away with his game. Obviously, watched a lot on Thursday and Friday. And his driver was sort of letting him down along with the putter. But when I was out with him on Saturday, Sunday, boy oh boy, was the driver good. He’s hitting it so far. It certainly has a different sound when it comes off,” he said.
“As bad as the putting was Saturday, he made some improvements. He went up to the Scotty Cameron facility in Carlsbad and worked for a couple of hours and sort of fixed some things. What I noticed with his putting was that he was hammering these short putts. And when you’re on poa annua greens that have the undulation that Torrey Pines does, if you hammer putts and miss them, you’re going to have a long way coming back, which is what he did. And we saw a number of ugly three putts early and late in that round, Saturday.
“The two highlights for me from Brooks’ game were his short game was really tidy, and his iron play was spectacular, not only short irons and wedges, but also a four iron he hit into six on Saturday, leaving himself under six feet for eagle. He would go on to miss that putt again. But iron play was great. Fix the driver over the course. I have high expectations for Brooks this week, at a place he’s won twice in Phoenix.”
It would be fair to say that his display this week at TPC Scottsdale should be much more reflective of where his game currently stands.
As Wagner notes, he has plenty of happy memories at the WM Phoenix Open. He has also dusted off the cobwebs in California, so there will be hopes that he can put himself in the mix.
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