AUGUSTA, Ga. — Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland each shot 7-under 65s at the first round of the Masters, but neither Rahm, a recent World No. 1, nor Hovland, an ebullient, rising young star, made as much noise as LIV Golf ambassador Brooks Koepka.
Koepka — a 32-year-old, four-time major winner with a football player’s physique and movie-star looks — always was LIV’s greatest hope for legitimacy and attention. Phil Mickelson made the biggest splash with his controversial defection from the PGA Tour to LIV, and Cam Smith was the hottest player on the planet when he left, but Brooksie was the total package.
And then he showed his sensitive side.
The second episode of “Full Swing” dropped Feb. 15, and Koepka’s frosted hair and self-reflection in an era of touchy-feely he-men made him an instant social-media icon. The Netflix docu-series offered a peek behind the curtain of the life of a professional golfers, and viewers connected with Koepka in particular, as he battled back from injury and a crisis of confidence. They also became immersed in his relationship with then-fianceé Jena Sims, the B-movie actress he married in June.
Koepka is a bristly competitor, a plain speaker who fosters conflict and feuds, so he was pleased that people saw a softer side of him.
“I think it was good to see. People probably don’t think I’m as open as what I really am. I’ll tell you exactly how I’m feeling at the time, how I’m feeling in the moment,” he said. “I’m pretty vulnerable away from the golf course. I’ve always said what you see on the golf course isn’t what you get behind closed doors. Hopefully, people were able to take that from it.”
LIV handlers must have been be rocking the Casbah on Thursday night.
The biggest stories of the week at the 87th edition of the tournament involved: 1) Tiger Woods’ quest to win again after nearly losing his right leg in a 2021 car crash, and: 2) how the 18 players from the renegade tour would fare in the first Masters since LIV began poaching PGA Tour talent last summer.
So far, so good.
Koepka’s round featured the efficient golf that helped him win LIV’s latest event, which finished Sunday in Orlando and made him the favorite among the 18 LIV players in the 88-man field. Smith was the No. 2 LIV-er, tied for 16th at 2-under. Mickelson posted at 1-under, tied for 25th. Kevin Na withdrew due to illness after nine holes, but 15 of the 17 remaining LIV-ers were at 2-over or better, which gave them a good shot to make the cut.
As it often does, Koepka’s relevance spawned controversy.
His caddie, Ricky Elliott, rather clearly mouths the word “Five” to Gary Woodland’s caddie, Brennan Little, after Koepka hit his approach shot to the par-5 15th hole. Telling an opponent which club you hit is illegal. The tournament’s Competition Committee investigated; that is, they asked Elliott and the group if that’s what happened. They were told it didn’t happen, so the committee took no action.
“We looked at it when we got back in,” Koepka said. “GW (Woodland) and Butchie (Little) had no idea what we were hitting. I know that fact because GW asked me what we hit walking off (the 15th green).”
Woodland birdied the hole and finished at 4-under, tied for sixth with defending champion Scottie Scheffler, Texas A&M amateur Sam Bennett, and five others.
