Rory McIlory and Brooks Koepka haven’t always seen eye-to-eye.
The two star golfers, who have won a combined 10 majors, have had their moments of tension throughout their respective careers. Most of it has been in the nature of competition, though.
Koepka and McIlroy’s views on LIV Golf have especially caused some rifts, with the back-and-forth exchanges beginning in 2019 with some fiery comments from Koepka. But at the end of the day, the two have also spoken highly of one another, not actually allowing disagreements to spoil a friendship.
Here’s what to know about the history of the alleged “beef” between McIlory and Koepka.
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Rory McIlroy-Brooks Koepka ‘beef,’ explained
McIlroy has been one of the PGA Tour’s staunchest defenders over the years in the midst of the golf schism, while Koepka has been one of LIV’s biggest gets; the latter point was affirmed after Koepka secured the PGA Championship, his fifth major win, in May 2023.
While much ado has been made about a bitter McIlroy and the resentment he has had toward LIV Golf, he and Koepka are actually good friends, however.
In April 2023, the pair raised eyebrows when they met for a practice round at Augusta. Some thought that it was some kind of clandestine, conspiratorial meeting akin to Bob Woodward’s parking garage rendezvous with Deep Throat. Not particularly. After Koepka won LIV Golf’s event in Orlando, McIlroy reached out to offer well wishes and set up the practice date.
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“He texted me congrats on Sunday [after LIV Golf Orlando win], then I asked him if he wanted to play,” Koepka said on how the practice round before the 2023 Masters came about. “We had that scheduled — it wasn’t just a random show up on the tee.”
McIlroy also reaffirmed his friendship with Koepka during the 2023 Masters, saying that he’s friends with some LIV players and maybe not as much with others.
“It’s a very nuanced situation and there’s different dynamics,” McIlroy said, citing interpersonal relationships with different LIV Golf players. “It’s OK to get on with Brooks [Koepka] and [Dustin Johnson] and maybe not get on with some other guys that went to it.”
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McIlroy has also said that Koepka deserves a spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team. There are some loopholes surrounding Ryder Cup eligibility on the U.S. side of things, but McIlroy went to bat for his buddy in 2023.
“I don’t know if there’s anyone else on the LIV roster who would make the team on merit and how they’re playing,” McIlroy said in May 2023. “But Brooks is definitely a guy who deserves I think to be on the U.S. team.”
That’s not all of the pleasantries, either. Their friendship goes back a ways, as well. In 2019, Koepka seemed to dismiss a rivalry between he and McIlroy, and McIlroy did the same.
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“I love Brooks, he’s a great guy,” McIlroy said in 2019. “Obviously super competitive, like we all are. I guess I can see where he’s coming from. … I think if you take what Brooks said out of context then it can become this big thing that it’s become. But Brooks and I are good, we’re good friends.”
Of course, there have been some moments of tension between the two stars, no matter how much they’ve denounced a rivalry. Prior to McIlory calling Koepka a “great guy” and his “good friend” in 2019, Koepka had publicly taken a shot at McIlory’s lack of major success.
“I’ve been out here for what, five years. Rory hasn’t won a major since I’ve been on the PGA Tour. So I don’t view it as a rivalry,” Kopeka said, per the New York Post.
McIlory’s fortune in majors has changed since then, capturing the 2025 Masters to join the exclusive club of golfers with a career grand slam. But the rift between LIV and the PGA Tour was also a cause for the two stars’ “beef,” and while McIlory never publicly targeted Koepka, he did say he felt “betrayed” by golfers who left the PGA Tour for LIV.
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However, most of the back-and-forth exchanges between McIlroy and Koepka have been in the nature of competition, not actual bad blood. The two are known friends; in fact, they’re both among the star golfers that will appear in “Happy Gilmore 2.”
The field for Happy Gilmore 2 is stacked. ⛳️ Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Will Zalatoris and more. pic.twitter.com/bnHcUzXva4
— Netflix (@netflix) February 5, 2025
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