Brooks Koepka On Verge Of First $20m PGA Tour Signature Event Start
The five-time Major champion is now first-alternate for this week's RBC Heritage
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Brooks Koepka hasn’t played in a Signature Event since returning to the PGA Tour via its Returning Member Program.
However, that could be about to change, with the former LIV Golfer the next in line for a place in the RBC Heritage field, should another player pull out in the lead-up to the Harbour Town event.
Three days before the tournament, Justin Rose withdrew following his Masters agony, where he led by two in the final round before letting it slip on his way to a T3.
Michael Thorbjornsen was listed as the first alternate, and he replaces Rose in the 82-player field, but next in line is Koepka.
Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour came with several 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 means he can only play in them via qualifying through the usual means - 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.
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Koepka also 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 leaves the Aon Next 10.
Patrick Rodgers and Pierceson Coody are in the field despite sitting 11th and 12th respectively, because Adam Scott, who is fifth, isn’t playing and ninth-placed Jordan Spieth qualifies via his current FedEx Cup ranking.
Koepka is currently 20th on the list, and all the players between 13th and 19th are now in the field via other categories, too, including sponsor’s exemptions, the Aon Swing 5 and previous year’s FedEx Cup ranking.
As a result, Koepka is now just one more withdrawal away from getting the green light to tee it up at the $20m tournament alongside the likes of defending champion Justin Thomas and previous winners Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick.
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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