Koepka admits health played role in joining LIV Golf

Brooks Koepka said his two-year injury run, in which he had multiple surgeries to repair knee issues, influenced his decision to join LIV Golf shortly after the U.S. Open last season.

The four-time major champion's decision came as a shock to most, as he has long talked about wanting to compete with the best players in the world on a regular basis. Yet Koepka said Friday he's "happy with the decision" to join LIV, which offered guaranteed money.

Koepka played 15 events on the PGA TOUR schedule in 2021-22 before leaving for LIV with six missed cuts and only one top-10 finish outside of the 18-man Hero World Challenge. He's now played 10 LIV events with two wins - including last week's triumph in Orlando.

"Any athlete, anybody that's going through something where you can't even bend your knee. … It was pretty gruesome," Koepka said Thursday, according to ASAP Sports. "They told me getting out of surgery that it was going to be pretty much a year and a half anyways, and then you just create bad habits, and it's frustration. You feel like you're never going to be healthy."

Through two rounds of the Masters, it appears Koepka's game is back to the form that had him ascend to World No. 1 during his major domination from 2017-20. He became just the fourth player in tournament history to record at least 12-under after 36 holes with a bogey-free 67 on Friday.