Brooks Koepka has moved a step closer to officially joining the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series after withdrawing from this week’s Travelers Championship on the PGA Tour.
The four-time major champion, who has been confirmed as out of the field by the tour, replaced by Mark Hubbard, is due to feature in the second event of the rebel tour on US soil next week.
A short statement from the PGA Tour read: “Brooks Koepka is a WD from the Travelers Championship and replaced in the field by Mark Hubbard.”
Koepka has already wiped his bio on social media, which previously included "Nike Athlete | PGA Tour | Owner @havsies", with @bkcharityfund the only mention now.
The American will join Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed, Abraham Ancer and Pat Perez, who have already been confirmed as the latest players to defect from the PGA Tour.
Koepka’s brother, Chase, competed in the inaugural LIV event at Centurion Club earlier this month alongside major champions Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Charl Schwartzel, who earned an eye-watering £3.85m for winning in Hemel Hempstead.
The second 54-hole LIV event will take place at Pumpkin Ridge in Portland beginning on 30 June.
Koepka’s decision, first reported in The Telegraph, comes a week after a bristling press conference ahead of the US Open, where he dodged questions around joining LIV and accused the media of attempting to cast a “black cloud” over the major.
“I don’t understand,” he said. “I’m trying to focus on the US Open, man. I legitimately don’t get it. I’m tired of the conversations. I’m tired of all this stuff. Like I said, y’all are throwing a black cloud on the US Open. I think that sucks.”
Pushed further on the subject, Koepka insisted he hadn’t “given it much thought”.
Koepka, who finished 55th in Brookline, won and then successfully defended the US Open in 2017 and 2018. He repeated that feat at the PGA Championship in 2018 and 2019 and held the world No 1 ranking for a total of 47 weeks.
