Brooks Koepka fires back at Rory McIlroy question ahead of The Open: "Ask him!"

Brooks Koepka opened up on his friendship with Rory McIlroy in his pre-tournament news conference before the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

Ben Smith

18 Jul 2023

Brooks Koepka fires back at Rory McIlroy question ahead of The Open: "Ask him!" — Brooks Koepka fires back at Rory McIlroy question ahead of The Open: "Ask…

Brooks Koepka swatted away a question about Rory McIlroy in a news conference before the 151st Open Championship.

The question? Have the feelings from the players in the LIV Golf / PGA Tour divide 'gone so deep' that some relationships will never be healed?

OUTRAGE! Brooks fuming he's out with Cantlay for R1 and R2 of The Open!

"Probably you should ask Rory that," Koepka told reporters on a rainy Tuesday at Hoylake. "I don't know. I can't speak for him.

"I know me and Rory have had quite a few good talks over the last, I don't know, year, maybe couple months.

"Yeah, everybody is entitled to their own opinion, how they feel about it.

"To me, I don't have enough information on it to even know how to feel, what to think. That'll probably be coming in the next few months I'd say."

Koepka, 33, is referring to the PGA Tour's agreement with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF). The PIF backs LIV Golf.

Brooks Koepka says Rory McIlroy has 'opened up to me about some stuff which I really appreciate' when asked about his friendship with the Northern Irishman over the last year. #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/7zDpk3w8ap
— GolfMagic (@GolfMagic) July 18, 2023

The shock announcement, Koepka said, was expected although the American claimed the timing did catch him off guard.

Even though McIlroy has made efforts to repair some personal relationships, it's clear he still feels strongly about everything that has transpired.

McIlroy even told reporters before winning the Scottish Open that if LIV was the last place to play professional golf then he would retire.

Koepka continued on McIlroy:

"I've hung out with Rory, for like I said, the last six, eight months. We still practice together. We've had multiple conversations. We've talked about a bunch of different things, life just off the golf course, and he's told me some stuff that's gone on with him that I really appreciate he's opened up."

Koepka said he's always remained friends with players who stayed on the PGA Tour. "Unless they're saying it [negative comments] behind my back. I don't know of anybody that's extremely mad at me."

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Brooks Koepka fires back at Rory McIlroy question ahead of The Open:

He added:

"I think everybody thinks there's this -- just because there's a divide with LIV and the PGA Tour that the players are actually divided, and I don't think that's the case at all."

So has Koepka learned anything about himself after everything that has transpired since he bolted from the PGA Tour?

He said: "What have I learned? I'm going to be a dad, so that's probably a little different. I'd say definitely more off the golf course. Just getting ready to be a dad I think is the main thing."

For now, Koepka said he's just going to 'let it all play out'. "It really doesn't matter until everything is definite," he said.

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