Brooks Koepka joined Jake Paul on his “BS” Podcast, where the five-time major champion explained why he originally left the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf.
The 2023 PGA Championship winner also went into detail on the origins of the deal between the PIF and the PGA Tour, to his back story and the money.
Of course, Paul asked the question all golf fans want to know; how much did Koepka sign for.
“It was pretty good. I was very happy with it, put it that way,” Koepka said with a wry smile to Paul. He did however acknowledge that it was a nine-figure deal.
When LIV golfers began to leave for the rival tour, many like Patrick Reed said it was for family time, not the money.
But Koepka didn’t pull any punches.
“Look, I’m gonna be honest with you — I signed for the dough,” Koepka said. “I’m 100% behind that. Tomorrow, I could get in a car accident and never play golf again, but my family is taken care of. That was a big thing — not doing it for anything else.”
“Everybody else — most of them don’t like their 9-to-5, but they’re doing it because they get the paycheck, and it’s the same thing as us. I enjoy playing golf. I enjoy winning, but the training behind it is some of the most fun I’ve had when you look back at it. I would say I’d do it for free because I love it that much, but you got to take care of each other.”
Paul and the other two co-hosts admitted they don’t know much about golf but had to bring Koepka on the show because of who he is — as they said, “the golfer who doesn’t like golf.”
Even amongst fans, the perception of many has been Koepka doesn’t enjoy himself on the course. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Koepka loves the game. His love started from an early age after a tragic accident kept him away from contact sports. When he was around eight years old, He said he broke so many bones in his face that his doctor disallowed contact sports for over a year.
“I was left with golf, and that’s where it kind of took off, and I was like, ‘Man, I love this thing — let’s do it,’” he said.
Like him or not, the controversial golfer is a straight shooter. It is refreshing to hear straight from the horse’s mouth the sole reason for ditching the PGA Tour for LIV.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
