Formula 1 World Champion Lando Norris, tennis legend John McEnroe, all-star baseball player Nick Swisher, and a plethora of movie stars delighted fans as part of the Celebrity Pro-Am at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic on a picturesque Wednesday afternoon at the Dunes Golf & Beach Club.
But the story of the day was the presence of Brooks Koepka. The five-time major champion, who returned to the PGA Tour after spending 3 ½ years playing on the LIV Golf circuit, is by far the highest profile player to tee it up at the Myrtle Beach Classic as he looks to reclaim his place among the Tour’s upper echelon.
Koepka remains outside the PGA Tour’s signature events, meaning he hasn’t played an individual tournament since finishing tied for 12th at the Masters.
Despite sitting around waiting until the last group teed off in hopes of getting in at Hilton Head and Doral, he isn’t complaining about his plight. As part of his return to the Tour, Koepka is ineligible to receive sponsor exemptions into the signature events, meaning he had to start from the bottom and play his way in.
“I’m itching to get in [to the signature events], but I’m accepting of where I’m at,” he said. “I understand that there’s a price to pay for coming back, and I’m willing to accept those and whatever I have to do.”
Koepka’s play, by his lofty standards, has been up-and-down, but the three-time PGA Championship winner has four top 20 finishes in seven individual events.
“I feel like I’ve played better than my results,” Koepka said. “I knew the first couple of weeks (back on Tour) were going to be an adjustment. Then there’s an adjustment to the way the golf courses are set up, too.”
Koepka, who said the answer to everything is to simply “play better,” sees Myrtle Beach as an opportunity to get his first win as a Tour member since the 2021 Waste Management Open while preparing for next week’s PGA Championship.
“I’m trying to win the golf tournament. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here,” he said. “I think it’s a great week to really assess where you’re at, because I think it’s a big three months of golf coming up.”
While Koepka didn’t consult with any of his fellow Tour pros before committing to the Myrtle Beach Classic, he was heartened to hear good things that were reinforced by his first trip around the Dunes Club, a Robert Trent Jones Sr. design.
“It’s a great golf course,” he said. “The way I think the bunkering setup here is really good off the tee. It gives you something to aim at. You can reach it. A few of them you can’t carry or at least I can’t as I’m getting older, but you have to be precise off the tee. Then going into the greens, you really need to think about where you want to miss it, because there’s — I can think of four or five greens where the front part of the green is sloped into you, and then it goes away from you.”
A win this week puts Koepka into the Tour’s signature events, and it would position the future Hall of Famer as a favorite heading into the PGA Championship at Aronimink.
The key to his success will likely be the flatstick. He is third on Tour in Strokes Gained Approach, but 141st in putting. If he rolls the ball well, don’t be surprised if Koepka is near the top of the leaderboard Sunday afternoon.
“I want to get back to being the best player that I can be and try to give myself the opportunities to see those dreams come true,” Koepka said. “Whether they come true or not, who knows? But I’m going to give it my all for at least the next ten years.”
Photos for this feature from MyrtleBeachGolfTrips Instagram Account
