Brooks Koepka grateful for 'warm reception' from PGA Tour fans

SAN DIEGO -- There was plenty of "Brooksie" shouted from the gallery and even more "Welcome back" on Thursday as the highly anticipated return of Brooks Koepka to the PGA Tour had mostly chill vibes along the California coast.

From his drive off the first tee at Torrey Pines' acclaimed South Course, to a final birdie putt at No. 18, Koepka was well received in his first round on the PGA Tour after 3 1/2 seasons with LIV Golf.

If there was disappointment that Koepka took his headliner status to the Saudi Arabia-backed golf tour in June of 2022, it was mostly represented by appreciation that at least one piece of the PGA puzzle was back in place again.

Koepka obliged those with open arms by offering plenty of thank yous. He would have rather shown his appreciation with a better round, shooting 1-over-par 73 to open his weekend at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Forgive and forget wasn't a sure thing this week. Koepka admitted that one of his concerns shortly after fashioning a path back to the PGA Tour was the reception from fans.

"I don't like thinking ahead at all or trying to anticipate what was going to happen, but I wasn't sure, which is kind of weird to be uneasy," Koepka said after his round. "You don't really know, but from the first tee on, it was great. It actually made me settle down a little bit and made me feel good."

Patrick Reed also announced his return from LIV to the PGA Tour for later this season. His reception remains to be seen.

Day 1 for Koepka was reassuring, but it does not mean there won't be other days, other cities, some potential late-afternoon objectors with a beer in hand, determined to get something off their chest.

"I've definitely been heckled," Koepka said. "I enjoy it. It's sports, right? Sometimes it makes you lock in and play a little better which is always fun. I'm not saying I want it all the time, so nobody think that.

"But yeah, I cared about my perception, what people thought, what the fans thought. It's easy when you're around the players and they come and talk to you or you talk to them, or caddies, the people around here. But everybody else, I wasn't sure."

After all, Koepka once scoffed when LIV emerged, suggesting fellow competitors would sell out and join. He ended up being one of those to depart on a reported deal for at least $100 million, with another $45 million in prize money and bonuses.

With another year remaining on that contract, Koepka began to investigate a path back to the PGA Tour. He said this week that playing near family again was the major motivator without being specific. His wife, Jena Sims, revealed on social media in October she had a miscarriage.

His family is with him in the San Diego area this week, including 2-year-old son Crew.

As a member of the third group off the South Course's first tee Thursday, Koepka sent his drive to the right side of the fairway, put his approach shot to 10 feet and completed a two-putt par. It was better than his playing partners -- Max Homa and Swede Ludvig Aberg -- each of whom had a bogey.

Birdies were hard to come by in the group. Koepka opened with three pars then had a three-putt bogey at the challenging fourth hole. He strung together eight consecutive pars before a disappointing bogey at the par-5 13th to reach 2 over.

Koepka's only birdie of the day came at No. 18 to pull back to 1 over. Homa was 3 over and Aberg limped home at 6 over. All of them were left to strain their necks looking up at England's Justin Rose in the lead at 10 under.

Koepka will need to make a push on Friday just to make the cut. It will help that he is playing the less daunting North Course where Rose bloomed.

A full four rounds this week would help Koepka gather momentum for next week's visit to a course that has played a major role in his career.

The WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale is where Koepka has won twice, including the first trophy of his career in 2015. He also won in the desert in 2021.

By the time he gets to Arizona, this week's drama will be that much further behind him. Friday's chase to make the cut will be normal compared to a week that Koepka said is "very difficult to explain."

"It was good to get that (round) out of the way just because, like I said, I just care," Koepka said. "I care about what everybody's thinking out here, what everybody's doing, and just trying to be as good of a person and good of a player as I can be.

"Just wanted a warm reception, just like everybody else. You walk into a room, nobody wants to feel exiled, they just want to be loved. I mean, that's human nature, I think."

--Doug Padilla, Field Level Media