Rory McIlroy and PGA stars baited by Brooks Koepka as LIV star drops joke

PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf agree shock merger

Cheeky Brooks Koepka has taken advantage of his platform at the US Open to fire a not-so-subtle one-liner in the direction of his detractors on the PGA Tour. The PGA Championship winner is in Los Angeles this week for the third major of the year and is once again amongst the favourites to lift the trophy on Sunday.

The LA Country Club tournament is the first to pit LIV Golf and PGA Tour golfers together since the sporting world was left stunned by an announcement last week that the two warring operations have agreed to work in tandem going forward, alongside the DP World Tour.

Koepka was one of the headline rebels who chose to ditch their PGA Tour membership in preference for the Saudi-backed breakaway league, who reportedly paid him an astonishing £78m ($100m) sign-on fee.

And that decision now looks to have worked massively in his favour after last week’s framework announcement which suggests that Koepka and his LIV Golf colleagues will soon be able to enjoy all the perks of the PGA Tour but with substantially deeper pockets.

As the game’s top players prepare to get their US Open campaigns underway on Thursday, questions around the groundbreaking agreement have naturally been fired by the assembled media at representatives of both sides of the sporting soap opera.

But while Koepka was able to bat away the majority of questions put to him by reporters, the 33-year-old couldn’t resist finishing off his pre-tournament press conference with a sneaky wisecrack, sending a message to PGA stars who are not expected to welcome LIV Golf players back into the fold with open arms.

As he got up to leave his chair, a smiling Koepka said: “Thanks, see you guys at Travelers next week.”

The Travelers Championship is the next event scheduled to take place on the PGA Tour. As the penny dropped, a ripple of laughter spread around the room.

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According to Sportskeeda, an individual at the LA Country Club was heard saying “Really Brooks” to Koepka in reference to his cheeky joke, before the five-time Major winner responded by making a hand gesture that suggested he was stirring the pot.

One of the major opponents of the LIV Golf tour is Rory McIlory, who, in the wake of the announced agreement between the three tours said: “We can’t just let LIV golfers back in.”

Koepka and McIlroy will have the opportunity to discuss the merger at length on Thursday, should they wish, after the two stars were paired together in the first round of the US Open alongside Hideki Matsuyama, in what promises to be the most high-profile grouping of the opening day.

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