Brooks Koepka sets his sights on defending his title in Jeddah after citing it as a “turning point” in 2022
Brooks Koepka is on the verge of wrapping up another successful LIV Golf season. There is just over a week to go until the final individual event of the year, the LIV Golf Jeddah, which Koepka enters as the defending champion.
It is a crucial tournament as it will decide the final standings on the circuit. Not only will there be a battle for the top spot, but the bottom four will lose their place in the LIV Golf and drop down to the developmental circuit.
Koepka sits comfortably in fifth place on the individual leaderboard. Although he has no chance of reaching the top spot, he heads to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with a very high motivation: the inaugural edition of this tournament was his first victory in LIV Golf, something the player himself described as a "turning point" for him.
Brooks Koepka reflected on this with LIV Golf's news service. This is part of what he said:
"Jeddah was a really meaningful win last year, so it's going to be special to be back. Going head-to-head in a playoff against Peter [Uihlein], who was my Smash teammate at the time, and getting both the individual and team win was something I'll always remember in my career."
He added:
"It was a huge turning point for my game and gave me a ton of momentum and confidence heading into 2023. I'm excited to get back there, especially as the returning champ."
At the 2022 LIV Golf Jeddah, played at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, Brooks Koepka claimed a spectacular victory after shooting three rounds in the 60s.
His opening round of 62 was instrumental in keeping him in contention. After 54 holes, Peter Uihlein forced a play-off, but Koepka prevailed in sudden death.
Brooks Koepka, LIV Golf Jeddah and the 2023 final standings
Prior to arriving in Jeddah in 2022, Brooks Koepka had played in five LIV Golf events with just one top-10 and two top-20 finishes. This victory gave him more than half of the 62 points he needed to finish 8th on the individual leaderboard.
In the 2023 season, Brooks Koepka has played 12 tournaments with one win (Orlando), three other top 10s and three other top 20s. He is fifth on the individual list with 112 points.
Season leader Cameron Smith has 170 points. This means that Brooks Koepka cannot challenge for the top spot on the individual leaderboard. Koepka can only reach 152 points as a win in Jeddah would give him 40 points.
However, Koepka could still challenge for third place, not to mention the fact that players ranked between fifth and 17th have a mathematical chance of overtaking him. These are important motivations for a good result in Jeddah.
After the tournament in Saudi Arabia, the LIV Golf calendar closes with the LIV Golf Team Championship in Miami from 20-22 October.