Brooks Koepka finishes first day on PGA Tour | Golf News

Brooks Koepka acquired a stark reminder of the calls for that come with PGA Tour competitors during his opening day back on the circuit.

On Thursday, Koepka discovered himself in the highlight at the 2026 Farmers Insurance Open, marking his first non-major PGA Tour look in 1,404 days and his debut since his Tour reinstatement on Jan. 12. Speaking with media at Torrey Pines, the 35-year-old supplied a candid evaluation forward of his much-anticipated return to acquainted territory.

Whether attributed to jitters or the cobwebs amassed from almost 4 months away from competitors, Koepka struggled to set up any rhythm during the opening spherical in San Diego. He dropped pictures on the par-4 4th and par-5 thirteenth holes, finally posting a 1-over 73 and ending the first day tied-A hundred and first.

While Koepka managed to rescue his spherical considerably by draining a birdie on the par-5 18th, he stays in a precarious place heading into the cut line. His taking part in companions endured comparable difficulties, with Max Homa (3 over) and Ludvig Aberg (6 over) also posting disappointing scores.

The mid-tournament cut format could require some adjustment for Koepka, who loved the benefit of finishing all rounds in every LIV Golf event he entered.

In June 2022, the five-time major winner departed the PGA Tour and signed a four-year deal with the Saudi-backed circuit that was reportedly valued at over $100 million. Despite a yr remaining on his profitable contract, Koepka announced that he can be “stepping away” from LIV Golf to commit more time to his household.

He subsequently reapplied for PGA Tour membership, making his return through the newly established Returning Member Program.

“I’m definitely a little bit more nervous this week, just coming back, but it feels good,” Koepka admitted earlier in the week. “I’m super grateful to be back. Yeah, there’s a lot of guys I don’t know over the past three and a half years.

“There’s a lot of new faces, but excited to meet those guys and really feel like I’m half of the tour.

“A lot’s gone on over the past five, six months with my family, and that played a big role in me coming back and then just having conversations with my wife, my team, and being able to make that decision to come back was, I guess, tough conversations, but it was what was best for me and best for my family.

“I believe that was a resolution that my spouse, myself, everyone, my staff thought that that was best as effectively,” he continued.

“My spouse’s coming this week, my son’s coming this week, and they are going to come next week [to the WM Phoenix Open] as effectively, so that’ll be tremendous thrilling to have them out and just having my household around is admittedly important.

“I’ve grown up a lot over the last few years and especially the last few months. Just being able to be close to them is super important to me.”