Brooks Koepka is yet to hit full stride after returning to the PGA Tour.
He was in poor form at the end of his time on LIV, and while there have been some flashes of his former self, Koepka has struggled for consistency from week to week.
Koepka just missed the cut at the Zurich Classic, playing alongside Shane Lowry. That was one of three missed cuts on the PGA Tour this season. He’s had only one top 10, at the Cognizant Classic, but he did put in a good showing at The Masters, finishing T12.
The 36-year-old American admitted that there was a significant adjustment that he had to make on his PGA Tour return, and it goes a long way to explaining why LIV players are struggling so much at major championships.
Brooks Koepka outlines why LIV players are struggling at majors
Only one LIV Golf player finished in the top 30 at The Masters, Tyrrell Hatton. Jon Rahm was completely uncompetitive, Bryson DeChambeau missed the cut, and Sergio Garcia smashed up a tee box during his final round.
It’s a concerning trend for LIV. None of their players won a major last year, and that looks set to continue in 2026. Koepka’s recent comments might have exposed a big reason for it.
Speaking before the Myrtle Beach Classic, he said, “I feel like I’ve played better than my results, I guess, the last little bit. I knew the first couple of weeks were going to be an adjustment. Then there’s an adjustment to the way the golf courses are set up, too. So having to understand that and kind of go through and figure some things out, it’s just different.
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“Then coming back, you’re kind of — first two weeks were a little bit more nervousness than anything. Then it’s just a matter of getting comfortable with the golf courses, seeing how firm things are, the yardages they’re playing. It’s a little different. There is a little bit of adjustment there.”
LIV Golf has been criticized in the past for playing much easier courses than the PGA Tour, thereby inflating its players’ statistics. Koepka’s comments all but confirm this.
The major championships are the toughest tests on the golfing calendar, and LIV players are totally unprepared when they arrive because they’re playing resort courses all year.
Brandel Chamblee called LIV Golf statistics ‘laughable’
This isn’t the first time that LIV’s easier golf courses have been thrown into the spotlight. Golf Channel Analyst Brandel Chamblee, speaking before The Masters, said that the numbers were ‘dubious’.
Speaking on his Favorite Chamblee Podcast, he said, “Their statistics out there are just laughable to look at. I’ll try to put it in perspective.
“Bryson, he’s played, like, five times this year. He’s averaging right at 77% of the greens in regulation. To put that into perspective. When he played the tour for five or six years, he averaged around 67% of the greens hit in regulation.
“Tour leaders every year in greens regulation is usually around 72, 73%. When Tiger had his historic year in 2000, he hit 75% of the greens. Nobody’s ever hit a golf ball better than Tiger in 2000, and I can promise you, Bryson’s not hitting his irons that good.
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“And he’s not even leading! Jon Rahm is leading with 82.22% of the greens in regulation. This would be like Steph Curry shooting free throws through a hula hoop-sized goal and peacocking around like he’s, you know, better than he’s ever been.
“So, you know, the numbers are just, you know, they’re dubious, and you kind of look at them askance, and you’re like, you can’t make heads or tails of those.“
The golf courses on LIV are so easy that it’s making DeChambeau look like prime Tiger Woods with his iron play. It’s no surprise he wasn’t ready to face Augusta then!
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