Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka have found themselves on opposed sides of golf’s civil war, but shared a warming embrace at last year’s PGA Championship at Oak Hill
Rory McIlroy may have differing views on the PGA Tour’s fallout with LIV Golf to Brooks Koepka, but this did not stop the former showing his class following the latter’s PGA Championship win 12 months ago.
Koepka made LIV Golf history at Oak Hill last May, becoming the breakaway league’s first major champion since its inception in June 2022. In doing so, he won an impressive third U.S. PGA title, adding to his previous back-to-back triumphs in 2018 and 2019.
For McIlroy, it was another frustrating week on the major championship stage. Despite banking a top-10 finish in seventh, it ensured his wait for a fifth flagship title went on. The action from the second major of the year was captured by Netflix’s Full Swing cameras as part of season two of the fly-on-the-wall series.
It gave golf fans an inside look on one of the biggest weeks of the year on the men’s pro golf calendar, featuring heavily in episode two of the most recent release. The behind-the-scenes camera crew captured the moment McIlroy was left frustrated in the Oak Hill locker room, claiming to his team that he had doubts whether he could ever get over the line on the major stage again.
My technique is nowhere near as good as it used to be,” he claimed. “I almost feel like I want to do a complete reboot. It is the only way I feel like I’m going to break through. It feels so far away. I’m not at the stage of my life where I feel like I can do these two-week bootcamps.
“I feel good enough to be f****** top-ten in my head, but not good win, like winning f****** majors.” Just moments later however the four-time major winner was able to put his frustrations aside to offer his congratulations to Koepka, after the pair crossed paths on the car park.
Brooks! Brooks!” McIlroy is heard shouting as he runs towards Koepka. Catching his attention, the pair then shared a huge before the European adds: “I am really happy for you.” The pair are then seeing going their separate ways before the LIV star tells McIlroy: “I’ll give you a shout man!”
McIlroy and Koepka have announced themselves as two of the most succesful players of their generation, especially at major championships. The duo had been locked on four majors each heading into last year’s U.S. PGA, before Koepka moved ahead by one with his victory. And whilst he clearly has plenty of respect for the American’s achievements, McIlroy was left frustrated by being overtaken in the major winners’ list. “F***, someone in my era has got more majors than I have.
“It is hard for me to not define myself as one of the best golfers in the world, so when you struggle like that you feel a little lost.” Admitting it was the call he needed to step away from the drama off the course surrounding the Tour and LIV, he added: “I think it was a wake-up call for me to say ‘lets just focus on the golf for a little bit.”
