Brooks Koepka Misses Out On First PGA Tour Signature Event Appearance

The five-time Major winner was the first alternate for the RBC Heritage, but a place in the field wasn’t forthcoming

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Brooks Koepka at The Masters at Augusta National
Brooks Koepka isn't playing in the RBC Heritage
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Brooks Koepka has missed out on a maiden appearance in a PGA Tour Signature Event at the RBC Heritage.

The five-time Major winner was a first alternate for the event, and would have been given a place in the 82-player field had there been a late withdrawal at Harbour Town.

Koepka was pictured on-site on Thursday in anticipation of that possibility, but when the final group of Max Homa and Sudarshan Yellamaraju teed off at 2.10pm ET for their opening round, his chance disappeared.

Koepka rejoined the PGA Tour via its Returning Member Program, which came with certain conditions.

One was that, while he was able to make an immediate return to full-field tournaments, he wouldn’t be eligible for sponsor’s exemptions into Signature Events.

That left him needing to earn his way into them via the - Aon Next 10, Aon Swing 5, winning a tournament or reaching the world's top 30.

Though Koepka has made several PGA Tour starts since his return, he is yet to win an event, while he’s not currently in the world’s top 30.

Koepka, who was also spotted chatting to star of US reality TV show Southern Charm on Wednesday at the course, wasn’t among the names in the Aon Swing 5 following its last eligible event before the RBC Heritage, the Valero Texas Open, which just left the Aon Next 10.

Brooks Koepka and Austen Kroll at Harbour Town

Brooks Koepka was seen with Austen Kroll at the course the day before the opening round

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Everyone between 11th and 19th is in the field, with Michael Thorbjornsen the last of those to get the nod after Justin Rose’s withdrawal earlier in the week.

With Koepka 20th on the list and therefore next in line to play, it left the tantalizing possibility of his first start in one of the big $20m events with just one more withdrawal.

Had there been a withdrawal and Koepka had started, it would have also given places to Keith Mitchell and Taylor Moore, per the conditions of the Returning Member Program.

However, without a last-minute withdrawal, it left all three missing out.

As a result of not getting a place in the field, Koepka’s next start will come at the team event, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he will link up with Shane Lowry.

The TPC Louisiana event begins on April 23rd.

Mike Hall
Mike Hall
News Writer

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 


He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 


Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 


Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.

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