Brooks Koepka returned to the PGA Tour earlier this season, and this week he is gearing up to play at TPC Sawgrass for the 2026 Players Championship. The tournament has been generating huge headlines since last month, with rumors that it could be the fifth major of the season on the PGA Tour. While there has been a lot of opposition to this move, golfers are divided in their opinions.
Interestingly, Brooks Koepka has tacitly refused to take a side, ambiguously responding to the topic during the Players Championship’s pre-tournament press conference. A reporter asked the golfer how many golf majors he believes he will have won if he wins the Players this season. In response to this, Koepka alleged that the reporter was attempting to bait him.
The former LIV golfer went on to say that every tournament on the PGA Tour is unique, and he intends to treat the players accordingly. Koepka agreed that the tournament this week will kick off the major golf season, so it is very special. According to an X post by Flushing It Golf, Koepka explained:
“I mean, I know what you’re trying to bait me into saying, but listen, it’s the players’ championship. Everybody knows this is a tournament you want to win. It’s a tournament that’s, like I said earlier, it’s the kickoff of the big season of golf, and that’s what makes this fun.”
Koepka later went on to compare the Players to minor events on the PGA Tour, arguing that all golf tournaments after one point are the same.
Brooks Koepka argues that the hype of a tournament depends solely on its buildup
Following his ambiguous comment to the Players Championship, Brooks Koepka went on to compare the tournament to previous live golf events. The golfer noted that all of the excitement around a tournament is simply due to the buildup from Monday to Wednesday, and that once the event begins, the game will be the same for the players as they settle into their event routine.
In the same press conference, the 35-year-old stated,
“Every tournament feels special, man. It’s very, I’m going out there, I want to win. I think maybe sometimes there’s more buildup in the hype from Monday to Wednesday of the tournament. But once, I think every player probably would say that from the second that you get there from Thursday morning, it’s just very, there’s no difference, right? You get into your routine. You get into your routine, and then you’re not thinking, wow, this is a huge event, or this is a small event, or this is just something I’m prepping for for two, three weeks for a major or anything like that.”
Koepka will begin his opening round at the 2026 Players Championship alongside Tony Finau and Akshay Bhatia, who will be competing in this event following a stunning victory at the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational. They will start their rounds from the first nine holes and begin as a tee group at 8:28 AM ET.
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