SAN DIEGO — Brooks Koepka was nervous. He hadn’t performed a aggressive spherical of golf in 14 weeks, however when he stood on the primary tee of the South Course at Torrey Pines on Thursday, he wasn’t anxious about his recreation.
Koepka was just about welcomed again by the tour and gamers for his long-awaited return to the PGA Tour after his greater than three-year tenure at LIV Golf ended final month.
Nonetheless, he stated he was nonetheless nervous about how he can be acquired by golf’s largest constituency.
“All I cared about was my notion, what folks thought, what the followers thought,” Koepka stated after carding a 1-over 73 on Thursday. “I’m wondering what everybody right here thinks. … I simply wished a heat welcome. Like everybody else, nobody desires to really feel like an outcast after they stroll right into a room. They simply need to be cherished. I imply, I believe that is human nature.”
Followers quelled Koepka’s considerations at almost each tee field and inexperienced, with many shouting “Welcome again!” and “I am so glad you are again!” The five-time main winner attracted the most important gallery of the day, strolling from gap to gap, exchanging fist pumps and excessive fives, and spending a very long time signing autographs after his spherical.
“It was nice from the primary tee shot. I used to be really in a position to cool down a bit bit,” Koepka stated. “I felt good simply being right here.”
Koepka confirmed a barely totally different, calmer facet of himself this week. On Thursday, he stated taking a break from skilled golf and watching his son develop up and take up golf has given him perspective on the longer term, which he embraces.
“I believe I fell in love with the sport once more,” Koepka stated. “I am not depressed, however I believe I am extra into it. 14 weeks is plenty of time to suppose, to replicate. If you happen to sit on the sofa and try this for some time, you’ll be able to actually dig into what you feel. I am simply excited.”
Regardless of not getting a birdie till the 18th gap, Koepka relished his probability to be on this place. Simply over a month in the past, he stated he wasn’t certain if he would have the ability to instantly return to the PGA Tour after leaving LIV.
“After I contacted (the tour), I knew I is likely to be out for some time,” he stated. “If I used to be going to get a penalty for popping out of right here and coming again, I used to be going to do regardless of the Tour requested me to do. It was that straightforward. No matter they wished, I used to be keen to do it.”
On Thursday, Koepka practiced on the harder South Course, and though he was a bit dissatisfied along with his driving (he hit simply 6 of 14 fairways), he was happy along with his effort and knew it might take time to get again into form.
“It was sort of shocking to come back out right here and see how rapidly the whole lot was going,” Koepka stated. “I’m simply grateful to be right here.”
