Brooks Koepka gets a warm reception in PGA Tour return. It might have been about more than him

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Brooks Koepka would never consider anything a dream week without a trophy, certainly not a tie for 56th finishing 19 shots behind the winner. But it felt like one at Torrey Pines.

“There's always that little voice in the back of your head,” Koepka had said a few weeks before his return to the PGA Tour after four seasons reaping Saudi riches on LIV Golf. He was referring to whether the PGA Tour would provide a way back, which it did.

There also were doubts — that little voice — about how he would be received in the locker room, on the range, in front of a microphone and particularly outside the ropes. It made him uneasy.

Koepka had every reason to feel so much gratitude at Torrey Pines. “Welcome back” was a steady refrain on Thursday and it never stopped until he finished with a birdie on Sunday.

Strange about this vibe, however, is that Koepka was never embraced like this even before he left for LIV. He had swagger. He was big, bad Brooks. He was admired more than he was adored.

Why so much love?

“I don't have an answer,” Koepka said after the third round. “It's tough to put myself in their shoes. It's cool, though. I enjoy it. I think it's great. I think people are just excited. I'm glad they're excited to see me back, to have me back. I'm hopeful it continues.”

There was another little voice as Koepka walked up to the 18th green on the South course before a large crowd in the opening round. This came from a spectator:

“Welcome back, Brooks. The tour is better with you.”

More than a five-time major champion and former No. 1 player in the world, Koepka was perhaps seen as a symbol of the fractured golf landscape slowly getting patched back together. That’s what the fans want.

LIV Golf was a big topic all week at Torrey Pines. It started with Koepka arriving on Monday. And then came Wednesday's news that former Masters champion Patrick Reed also was leaving LIV to play a full European tour schedule with an eye toward returning to the PGA Tour.

The tour welcomed him back, too, though Reed will have to wait until September.

Koepka is not the solution, not in the way Jon Rahm presumably thought he would force unification with his decision to bolt for LIV. But he might be the flicker of light at the end of tunnel.

“As you're seeing, the dominoes are starting to fall,” Harris English said. “Maybe those guys on the LIV tour are not that happy out there and the grass is not greener on the other side. They're seeing the PGA Tour getting stronger and having more success, and seeing that money is not the end-all, be-all, that doesn't fulfill them."

It's always about the money. That's why so many players left for LIV in the first place. And while the established tour always offered relevance, even players who hated everything about LIV appreciate how much the rival league has helped their bank accounts.

“We've all benefited from this chaos in one way or another,” Justin Rose said a week before he came to Torrey Pines and set the tournament scoring record.

Rose mentioned the equity shares in the PGA Tour, and the 11 tournaments now offering $20 million in prize money (not counting the majors).

“But we need a premium product,” Rose said. And then specific to Koepka he added, "This is the first time we’ve had someone who moves the needle come back our way.”

Koepka — and Reed — strengthen the PGA Tour and weakens LIV, which is off to a rough start in its 2026 debut this week in Saudi Arabia. Phil Mickelson (family matter) and Lee Westwood (injury) have announced they won't be Saudi Arabia or Australia to start the year.

Koepka did everything right at Torrey Pines except putt the poa annua greens. He was grateful the PGA Tour brought him back, and it showed. And he talked about falling in love with golf again and how much he cared, another side of Koepka rarely seen.

“Just like everybody else, you walk into a room, nobody wants to feel exiled," Koepka said. "They just want to be loved.”

For Koepka, it's on to Phoenix. Barring a runner-up finish or better to get into the signature events, he will next play his hometown event in West Palm Beach, Florida. As one longtime caddie noted, "People won't be talking about this in three weeks.” He's probably right.

But there is clear momentum for the PGA Tour, and Koepka is a big part of that.

During the last visit to Torrey Pines, when the Genesis Invitation was relocated there because of the deadline wildfires near Riviera, there was optimism a PGA Tour deal with the Saudis was close.

Now it's as far away as ever, and Adam Scott doesn't see that changing. He feels the best chance for any agreement was when LIV had only one year under its belt. Now LIV enters its fifth season.

“Timing has to align for big, intricate things to come together,” said Scott, a player director at the White House last year when President Donald Trump met with PGA Tour brass and the head of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

“There wasn't a lot of time behind LIV and now there is,” he said. “It's harder and harder. That's my take from a million miles high. They're four years in and they've got something going on. They're going their direction and maybe it was easier when there was less direction.”

Where it all goes now remains to be seen. Scott still believes “it's all going to end in a good spot.”

“I don't know what they're up to,” he said. “I like what what we're up to. It feels good out here.”

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On The Fringe analyzes the biggest topics in golf during the season. AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf