Brooks Koepka breaks major PGA Tour milestone in 2023 despite LIV Golf ban

Brooks Koepka was banned from competing on the PGA Tour in 2023 following his LIV Golf move, but that did not stop the American breaking a key milestone on his former circuit

In 2023, Brooks Koepka achieved a noteworthy financial milestone on the PGA Tour in spite of being barred from the circuit after switching to LIV Golf.

Koepka lost his spot on the PGA Tour as a result of joining the LIV setup in 2022, along with several other well-known players, after suspensions were imposed after the breakaway league’s inaugural event, which took place 16 months ago. Koepka moved last summer and hasn’t been able to play on the PGA Tour since, despite his success there.

This has not stopped him from earning PGA Tour winnings though, as the American passed $40million (£33m) in career earnings, one of only 30 players to do so in the Tour’s history.

The four majors in golf, which are included in the PGA Tour money list, provided Koepka with his loophole. On the grand stage, the American’s year proved to be unforgettable as he won the PGA Championship at Oak Hill in May, earning his fifth major championship. Koepka took home an incredible $3.15 million (£2.6 million) for winning, along with some much-needed bragging rights for the LIV setup. Only a few weeks had passed since he narrowly missed taking home his first green jacket at the Masters, when he triumphed at Oak Hill.

Koepka surrendered a 54-hole lead to Jon Rahm in the final round at Augusta, as he finished in a tie for second, adding another $1.6m (£1.3m) to his earnings. In his other two major outings, the five-time winner earned $284,167 (£248,262) at the U.S. Open and $39,025 (£32,135) at the Open Championship.

Officially, Koepka and every other LIV star on the back of their Saudi switch have been removed from the PGA Tour’s all-time money list. However, given that the Tour is in talks to merge with their LIV rivals with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), his name might very well surface again soon.

It was outlined that as part of the agreement the Tour would re-open its doors to those who chose to make the move to the Saudi-funded series, Koepka however appears to be happy where he is. After the news of the proposed ‘framework agreement’ broke in June, the Ryder Cup star was quizzed on whether he would like to return to his former Tour.

Earlier this summer, Koepka declared, “I’ve been pretty happy with my decision to be here at LIV. “It’s been fun. Although I can’t speak for everyone, I would say that everyone is generally happy with where they are at and quite excited about the future. It’s difficult to look ahead and decide to just take each day as it comes because you can’t control what other guys do, but you can be content with where you are right now.”