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Brooks Koepka was Trying to be Constructive

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Alex Miceli | Last updated Apr 3, 2025 5:43 PM ET

Brooks Kopeka doesn’t mince words; it's just not who he is.

So, it wasn't surprising that he stepped in with a comment that seemed unsupportive of the LIV Golf League on Wednesday in a press conference at LIV Golf Miami.

“I think we all hoped it would have been a little bit further along, and that's no secret,” Kopeka said on Wednesday. “No matter where you're, you always hope everything is further along. But they're progressing and seem to be going in the right direction.”

Some saw Kopeka’s comments as critical and others as constructive.

A day later, Kopeka stood by the comments but also wanted to clarify that the comment was constructive and not intended to be critical of the current regime.

“You got to be on the inside to see a lot of it; I wish we would always be further along,” Koepka said. “I wish I was further along in my career, right? I wish I had 10 majors, like 25 wins by now. You always think you should be further ahead of where you are, or otherwise, why would you practice?

Kopeka’s desire isn’t big, massive changes but minor, incremental adjustments that include better venues, scheduling, and changes to the relegation system, where Koepka sees a need for change.

“They're trying to make progress, they're trying to do it, so I don't know, I'm not in control of it,” Kopeka said. “It's nothing I haven't brought up, and they don't already know.”

Kopeka’s voice and thoughts should carry more weight in the LIV system since he is the General Manager and team Captain.

While Koepka admits the extra work as GM can be a lot, going out, finding sponsors, and trying to get deals done for the team was a different experience from playing golf.

“It's a startup, and it's tough to ask somebody when we don't know where things are going,” Koepka said, explaining why he hasn’t hired a GM. “We don't know where things are going with the manager. It's tough to ask somebody to leave their job and come over here and take it's a huge risk.”

Koepka believes in the future and sees positive changes with the addition of new CEO Scott O’Neil.

At the same time, changes still need to be made to ensure the league runs smoothly in the future.

“There's a tremendous amount of stuff that is moving forward and going in the right direction,” Koepka said. “I think, honestly, Scott's been a huge, huge asset and propelling that forward where, maybe the first three years, it was kind of in a stalemate … I've seen more progress since Scott's gotten here than I have the first three years. I think he's the right man for the job. I think he's done a fantastic job.”

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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