“No one is angry at anybody” - Brooks Koepka shares details of a 30-minute chat with Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas
By all indications, LIV Golf stars and PGA Tour stars don't get along, and that mainly means Rory McIlroy. He's been the biggest detractor for LIV Golf and everyone involved.
However, according to Brooks Koepka, there's no anger. He spoke with McIlroy and Justin Thomas, another big PGA Tour advocate, for about half an hour.
Koepka mentioned what the conversation was about:
“Down in Jupiter, we see each other — I was just with Rory and JT yesterday, and I think Keegan was there. We see each other quite a bit. I mean, there's a lot of conversations. I was talking with Rory for probably about 30 minutes just about the ball and all the other stuff that's going on. No one is angry at anybody from what I've seen.”
Bubba Watson chimed in on the debate and Koepka's propensity for talking up LIV Golf:
“Protecting his entity, man. He's protecting his business, which is fine."
The debate between LIV and PGA continues to rage on, but it appears to be a feud only in public. Behind closed doors, according to Koepka, the conflict isn't relevant. He mentioned that he, Rory McIlroy, and Justin Thomas spoke for half an hour and even spoke about non-LIV things.
They discussed the new ball rules, which many golfers are vehemently opposed to. Apparently, despite the divide, the game is still fairly unified in many things. Perhaps this can be used to mend the gap over time and allow the two leagues to coexist peacefully.
Rory McIlroy feeling confident ahead of 2023 Masters
Rory McIlroy hasn't won a major since 2014 and he recently didn't even make the final cut for the Players Championship (golf's unofficial fifth major) after shooting five over.
Despite that, he turned it around at Match Play and is feeling very good going into the Masters.
McIlroy said [via Golf Channel]:
“I feel really good. I’m a lot more confident going into Augusta than I was last year and last year was my best-ever finish (runner-up). The one thing about Augusta is, you can’t go in too over-confident.”
He continued:
“I feel like I’m driving the ball better, I’ve got a driver I’m more comfortable with, and my putting really progressed as the week went on here. Augusta has become more of a driving course as the years have gone on and it didn’t used to be, but approach play is still the big key at Augusta and I felt like I hit my irons and wedges well this week.”
He finished by saying:
“I always feel the most confident when I feel the most prepared, so for me, it’s about just making sure I do the right things next week, so I know I’m ready to go."
Rory McIlroy has changed some equipment and done other things after his meltdown at TPC Sawgrass.
Evidently, it's worked and the world number two golfer (his win propelled him ahead of Jon Rahm) has a new lease on life going to Augusta for the 2023 Masters.