Emotional LIV Golf rebel Brooks Koepka revealed he once thought his career was over after claiming his first victory in the Saudi-backed invitational series.
Koepka, 32, overcame Peter Uhlein in a play-off to land the LIV Golf Invitational title in the final individual event of the controversial tour's inaugural season in Jeddah. The four-time major champion defeated Smash GC teammate Uhlein in the third play-off hole after his birdie on the 18th left him 12 under in Saudi Arabia.
Koepka finally sealed his win in fading light after good friend Uhlein found the green side bunker and then the water. A congested leaderboard had seen former European Ryder Cup stars Sergio Garcia and Paul Casey contest for the lead in the closing stages.
Glory in Jeddah marked a significant moment for Koepka, who had not tasted victory since winning the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February 2021. It was also his largest payday, as he claimed the £3.6 million first prize and a further £670,000 for his share in his team's triumph.
Koepka cited injury struggles as a key reason for his U-turn when he became the latest big-name star to leave the PGA Tour and join his brother Chase on LIV's tour in June. He claimed the limited schedule would benefit his golf, while the guaranteed millions on offer in Greg Norman's series would have no doubt also proved attractive for a player struggling to produce his best form.
He is now back in the winners circle after displaying the quality of golf that made him an ominous force in the sport a few years ago. And he paid tribute to his elite coaching team after calling on the esteemed triumvirate of Peter Cohen, Claude Harmon III and Jeff Pierce to reinvigorate his game in recent months.
"The last two years... they haven't been fun," Koepka said. "It's been a long road, I'm super excited and my old team, we've got the band back together, literally.
"A couple months ago I got Claude back on the team and Pete who I've worked with very very hard and Jeff as well. Shoutout to them, this is for them.
"I didn't know if my career was over for a half-second and I told Claude that I wasn't sure whether I was going to play so it's nice to come back and be able to win."
Koepka has become recognised as a laid-back, perhaps uninterested character with an elite winner's mentality, but he was overcome by emotion in his teary interview on the 18th green.
He has now joined Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace, Henrik Stenson, Dustin Johnson, Cam Smith and former amateur Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra as individual winners in LIV's first ever campaign.
The LIV tour heads to Miami at the end of October for a season-ending team event where 12 teams will compete for a mammoth £45m prize.
