{"id":731969,"date":"2026-06-12T12:51:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T12:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/731969\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T12:51:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T12:51:10","slug":"at-rbc-open-brooks-koepka-is-enjoying-his-post-liv-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/731969\/","title":{"rendered":"At RBC Open, Brooks Koepka is enjoying his post-LIV life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Brooks Koepka, seen here hitting his tee shot on the second hole during Thursday’s RBC Canadian Open, said his return to the PGA has been a smooth one.Nathan Denette\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

In 2022 Brooks Koepka chose to leave the PGA Tour to join the new Saudi-backed LIV circuit. That move by him, and similar ones by other PGA members caused a simmering feud to develop between both series.<\/p>\n

This year Koepka defected back to the PGA and agreed to terms that included a US$5-million donation to charity and other penalties laid out in the tour\u2019s Returning Member Program.<\/p>\n

On Thursday he fired a six-under-par 64 to take a share of the lead with five others after 18 holes at the RBC Canadian Open. Twelve players are tied at five-under, including Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C. and Matthew Anderson of Mississauga, Ont. <\/p>\n

Eric Zhao, an 18-year-old amateur from Toronto and a member of Princeton University\u2019s golf team, checked in at -2.<\/p>\n

The 72-hole tournament is being held on the North Course at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, a finely manicured par-70, 7,389-yard layout over what was once a sand and gravel pit in Caledon, Ont. Canada\u2019s national open was played there last year as well and in 2027 it will return again.<\/p>\n

PGA Tour rookie Sudarshan Yellamaraju enjoys his RBC Open homecoming<\/a><\/p>\n

The field includes 147 players after Paul Waring of England withdrew after two holes due to illness. The 70 lowest-scoring players, plus anyone tied with them, advance to the final two rounds on Saturday and Sunday.<\/p>\n

The winner receives US$1.764-million out of a total prize purse of US$9.8-million. John Oke, the winner of the first Canadian Open in 1904, won $60 out of a total of $170 that was distributed. What type of currency was involved is not listed in the records.<\/p>\n

Koepka is a five-time major winner on the PGA Tour and won five individual events on the LIV circuit as well. It was shocking when he jumped to LIV, which offered more prize money. He has never said that he regrets having made the move but opted to return.<\/p>\n

The LIV tour appears to be on shaky ground this year after investors in the series pulled out.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Koepka is a five-time PGA major winner. While with LIV Golf, he won five individual events.Minas Panagiotakis\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been nice to be back,\u201d Koepka said after Thursday\u2019s round. \u201cI\u2019ve enjoyed it. I think the players have been very receptive. I haven\u2019t heard anything [negative] \u2013 at least nobody had said it to my face. A lot of guys have told me, \u2018We\u2019re glad your back.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been enjoyable. I know myself, my family, everybody\u2019s happy and excited to see what this next part is.\u201d<\/p>\n

His return wasn\u2019t celebrated on the PGA Tour but rather held at arm\u2019s length.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt all happened so fast,\u201c Ryan Paul, the chairman of the RBC Canadian Open, said Thursday. \u201dThere were rumours that he was interested but we didn\u2019t know what was true and what wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

While LIV members must certainly be watching, Paul said he isn\u2019t sure if any others have made overtures to the PGA.<\/p>\n

I played the Canadian Open’s golf course to see what separates the pros from the joes<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI would not want to speculate or assume what\u2019s happening,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen you have an opportunity to bring in the world\u2019s best of course you consider it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he is unsure if LIV players coming to the PGA would have a huge economic benefit.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow much difference it would make, I don\u2019t know,\u201d Paul said. \u201cIt would be silly, however, to say it wouldn\u2019t be additive.\u201d<\/p>\n

As far as he knows other tour members have not lashed out at Koepka.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

After LIV lost its original funding, golf fans wonder if more players will follow Koepka’s path and come back to the PGA.Vaughn Ridley\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cThe emotions when it happened are different from they are now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Conditions were variable for Thursday\u2019s first round. It rained in the morning, so the greens were soft and spongy. It was breezy and humid later in the day so the greens dried up and became faster.<\/p>\n

Californian Sahith Theegala was the early clubhouse leader after shooting the first 64. He had seven birdies and one bogey on the day.<\/p>\n

The field includes 21 Canadians. Among them is Nick Taylor, who shot a three-under-67.<\/p>\n

Taylor made history in 2023 when he ended a curse for Canadian players at the Open. When he sank a 72-foot-putt on the fourth playoff hole to beat Tommy Fleetwood, he became the first Canuck to win the country\u2019s national open since 1954.<\/p>\n

The putt he holed started in one direction, curled in another and rolled directly into the cup. In excitement, Taylor tossed his club in the air \u2013 and now that image has replaced the \u2018I\u2019 in the RBC Canadian Open\u2019s logo.<\/p>\n

Inevitably, he will forever be linked to the event. A new putting park opened on the grounds at Osprey Valley this week and one of the holes is 72 feet, in Taylor\u2019s honour. It is even contoured to resemble the one at the Oakville Golf and Country Club where he tapped it in. Also on the property northwest of Toronto there is a booth where visitors can pay $20 to get two chances at making a 72-foot putt.<\/p>\n

If someone gets so lucky they will receive a new Titleist putter as a prize.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday Taylor, now appearing in his 15th Canadian Open, was asked if he still thinks about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the actual moment I kind of blacked out so I don\u2019t recall a lot of it,\u201d he said. \u201cBut now I\u2019ve seen the clip enough so it is almost like I see that version of it versus what I saw with my own eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Koepka said he felt like he played solidly on Thursday. He played in a group of three with Taylor and defending champion Ryan Fox.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a good time,\u201c Koepka said. \u201dI enjoy playing with those guys. They\u2019re quite fun and chatty while we\u2019re playing, which is great. Then the fans were great. That\u2019s all you can ask for any time you tee it up.\u201d<\/p>\n

They were waiting for him after the round and he signed autographs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Brooks Koepka, seen here hitting his tee shot on the second hole during…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":731970,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,622,82,8023],"class_list":["post-731969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-golf","tag-sports","tag-topstory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=731969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/731970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=731969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=731969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=731969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}