Brooks Koepka has announced he has parted company with coach Claude Harmon III, despite his five Major wins coming under his guidance.
Per Golfweek's Eamon Lynch, the LIV Golf star confirmed the split in a text message less than three weeks before he returns to action for the start of the fourth season of the circuit in Riyadh.
The 34-year-old wrote: “Pete Cowen and Jeff Pierce will be handling everything golf-related.” Both Cowen and Pierce are long-term members of Koepka’s coaching team.
Harmon has been Koepka’s swing coach for much of his career, beginning in 2013. He helped the American’s initial rise in the game, with highlights including four Major wins between 2017 and 2019 - a period that also included four spells at the top of the world rankings.
Despite that extraordinary success, the pair split for the first time in 2020. Koepka had some success following that parting of the ways, including victory in the 2021 WM Phoneix Open. However, his form - albeit not helped by injuries - generally dipped and he sat 19th in the world when he signed for LIV Golf in 2022.
Soon after that move, Koepka again turned to Harmon, and that October, he claimed his first LIV Golf title in Jeddah.
In 2023, following a near-miss at The Masters, Koepka, with Harmon in his team, added a fifth Major title to his collection with victory at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill, while he now has the same number of LIV Golf titles to his name.
Harmon also confirmed to Golfweek via text message that the two would no longer be working together, writing: “Yes, not working with him. Proud of the things we did together when I came back at the back end of 2022.”
Previously, Harmon, who is the son of the legendary Butch, lashed out at the media in a robust defence of Koepka’s decision to join LIV Golf. He told Golfweek in 2023: “You guys all acted like Brooks was a s***** player and Will Zalatoris was great, but the guy has won one golf tournament, yeah, he’s finished second in a bunch of tournaments.
“So have a lot of players, but you guys are ready to crown him as if he’s the second coming of Christ and you guys are acting like Brooks Koepka was a bum. Seriously, pre-Masters, that is what was happening. And you guys know that.”
When the new season begins on 6 February at Riyadh Golf Club, Koepka will be aiming to win his third LIV Golf title in Saudi Arabia, having followed his Jeddah victory in 2022 with a second title in the city a year later.
