Why joining LIV Golf may have cost Brooks Koepka the chance of winning another major

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There is no golfer currently playing other than Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson who has won more major championships than Brooks Koepka, with the American already level with the likes of Byron Nelson and Seve Ballesteros on five.

Brooks Koepka‘s career record is a remarkable one, with just three wins in regular PGA Tour events. Meanwhile, he has won five major titles, with two US Opens and three PGA Championships on his resume.

He did secure a spot in LIV Golf history in 2023 after becoming the first player to win a major after joining the league, with his triumph at Oak Hill. However, it has been a mixed bag in the majors for Koepka since.

He has one top 20 finish in his last six appearances. And with that, golf writer Gabby Herzig has told Golf Central that she is not convinced that the move to LIV will do Koepka many favours when it comes to his performances in the four biggest events of the year.

LIV Golf schedule not playing to Brooks Koepka’s strengths

“I just think that the LIV Golf schedule and the format and the structure of the league hasn’t necessarily suited Brooks’ game like it has a Bryson DeChambeau, where the timing between events and the sporadic nature of the schedule, less competitive golf has actually really benefitted him in that he’s been able to figure out his game and really dial in all the factors that he looks at as a player,” she said.

“But Brooks, on the other hand, has always been a momentum guy. I think he needs a little bit of a boost of confidence in these next couple of years, and I don’t know if LIV Golf can give him that.”

How Koepka has fared in the majors since joining LIV

Of course, LIV’s supporters will argue that Koepka winning the PGA Championship last year shows that the league has helped the 34-year-old. He is someone who has found a way to peak at the right time more often than many of his rivals. And going six majors without a win is hardly a long drought – even by his standards.

And he did manage to win a couple of times on LIV this past season.

It is hard to judge the impact of LIV Golf on his form. But there are just two seasons where Koepka has failed to register a top 10 finish in any of the four majors since 2014 – those being 2022 and 2024.

He did join LIV midway through 2022 so it would be unfair to blame the league too much for that. But it was noticeable how little a factor he played in the four majors this season.