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Brooks Koepka hits a shot on Friday on the 1st hole at Quail Hollow Club.
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Brooks Koepka, during the PGA Championship’s second round on Friday, asked a fan to confront him after the fan shouted a reference to LIV Golf, the tour where Koepka currently plays.
The incident, captured by another fan and posted to social media, came as Koepka and playing partners Shane Lowry and Rickie Fowler made their way toward a tee at Quail Hollow Club. As Koepka walked past a tent about 25 yards away, a fan was overheard saying this:
“Guaranteed money does to you, Brooks.”
Koepka’s caddie, Ricky Elliott, turned toward the fan. Then Koepka responded.
“Want to come down here and say it?” he said. “Want to come down here and say it? Tough guy now, huh?”
In 2022, Koepka joined LIV Golf under what he said was a $100 million-plus contract, and the tour’s events also pay all of its participants. Since then, he’s won five events on LIV and the 2023 PGA Championship, giving him five major championship victories.
After the latter victory, Koepka has played in eight majors and finished no better than a tie for 17th, and he’s missed his past two cuts. He failed to make the weekend last month at the Masters, and this week, he shot rounds of four-over 75 and five-over 76, putting him eight shots short of the cutline.
It wasn’t immediately clear what followed the back-and-forth between Koepka and the fan. According to the social media post, police confronted the fan.
Koepka’s next LIV Golf tournament is set for June 6 to 8 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia. A week after that, he is scheduled to play in the U.S. Open at Oakmont, and in July, he’s exempt for the Open Championship at Royal Portrush.
Editor’s note: GOLF.com’s Josh Schrock followed Koepka for his first round at the PGA Championship, and that story can be read here.
