23 February 2024 , 21:39
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Brooks Koepka has revealed if he could only play golf with one fellow professional for the rest of his career he would opt for PGA Tour rival Rory McIlroy.
Koepka and McIlroy have prevailed as modern greats of professional golf in recent years, and have nine major titles between them, with the former edging it with five to his name. The pair have taken each other on on many occasions, and it appears going toe-to-toe with the Northern Irishman is Koepka's favourite battle of all.
"Most people will probably hate this answer, but Rory right?" Koepka told Golf.com after being asked who he would pick to play with for the rest of his life.
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Opening up on the healthy rivalry between himself and McIlroy, the five-time major winner added: "There is a competition, maybe he's not that way or not, but I've one more [major championship] than him and then he is going to get to five soon and it is like a one up thing.
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"We are the same age, or I think he is a year older but where we are in the game, for me I want to try a little because I think he is arguably one of the best players ever so it is just trying to one up. For me that is how it is anyway. I know if I show up at a major I want to make sure I can get a big enough lead before he starts closing the gap."
Their rivalry has become more relevant away from the course rather than on it in the past two years, after Koepka and McIlroy found themselves on opposite sides of golf's civil war. The American star became one of the big names to join the LIV Golf setup, whilst the Northern Irishman pledged his loyalties to the PGA Tour.
Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy have shared a healthy rivalry (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)Despite being good friends with Koepka, McIlroy prevailed as one of LIV's biggest critics, having slammed the Saudi-backed league's formation and rise alongside the PGA Tour. In a huge u-turn though, the four-time major champion has softened his stance on the breakaway league in recent months.
And on the back of this, McIlroy's former agent Andrew 'Chubby' Chandler believes it could leave to the European Ryder Cup star making a shock move to the mega-money league. “If you were being cynical, you might say he’s going to sign for about £750 million in a month’s time with LIV because he’s paving the way that LIV’s okay now, whereas it wasn’t," Chandler told Bunkered.
“Who knows? He doesn’t need £750m but it’s odd what he’s done and I’m sure it’s a possibility. "If he does it or not, I don’t know, but if [Jon] Rahm can do it, most guys can do it." Weighing up what the chances are of his former client making the Saudi switch, the agent added: "I think number one, there’s a 10% possibility he’s favouring his way to sign for LIV, but he realises that the whole bickering and fighting is no good for golf."