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Thursday marked a historic day for the PGA Tour, as Brooks Koepka’s return became official.
After spending more than four years with LIV Golf, the five-time major winner announced earlier this month he was returning to the Tour and teed off at the Farmers Insurance Open in Torrey Pines on Thursday.
Koepka cited more family time as the key contributor to his decision to get out of his contract with the Saudi-backed league early. Ironically, that was a main reason why people defected to LIV, but Koepka’s attorney and advisor, Bryan Freedman, provided some context in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.
“Brooks has felt over the years that the travel being so intense and so international that it kept him away from his family, and I think as time went on, he longed to spend more time with his family and be closer to the U.S.,” Freedman, a co-founder of Liner Freedman Taitelman + Cooley LLP said. LIV has traveled to Australia, Singapore and other places around the world.
There had long been rumors that Koepka had buyer’s remorse, and there were times throughout last year when he was rather mum about his future in LIV.
“I don’t know that Brooks really made a decision that he wanted to get out until he made that decision, right? It had very little to do with golf and much to do about family,” Freedman said. “If you are happy and comfortable at home and able to be with your family for longer periods of time, then you truly have the most important kind of support to excel as an athlete. I believe that to be the same for most athletes in every sport.”
Despite the divorce between Koepka and LIV, Freedman said that “everybody was respectful in the process, and everybody was attentive to each party’s needs.”
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“Brooks and I worked together with other people on the team and LIV people to try to reach a structure that would work for everyone,” Freedman said. “And to have Brooks get his desired result, I think, that Brooks has nothing but respect for LIV, it was a respectful process, and I think everyone saw the benefit in Brooks being able to be happy and do what he wanted to do, which was to be closer to home, closer to his child, closer to his wife. He’s gone through some personal things and wanted to really kind of address those from a human being standpoint.”
Freedman also praised the PGA Tour for welcoming Koepka back with semi-open arms.
“I think the reaction was really positive. It’s great. The PGA has been wonderful, they welcomed him back. There are certainly restrictions that he has, and he’ll abide by them. “But I think they have been incredible in the way in which they have welcomed him back,” Freedman said. “I think he’s really excited. I think he’s excited to make amends with the players and do his best to just kind of be a golfer among golfers, as a worker among workers, and really go in there and be humble and walk in with the humility and the grace that Brooks walks around with.”
Koepka sure seems happy to be back on the PGA Tour, but Freedman does not believe he had any regrets about playing in LIV.
“I don’t think he had any regrets at all going to LIV. I think if anything, everybody wishes that everybody got along better, right?” Freedman said. “That there was some ability where people really had to play nicely in the sandbox together, and that this be a situation that didn’t raise so many issues for people. I think that if there’s any regret, it’s probably that.”
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