03 March 2024 , 08:00
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Brooks Koepka only found out his £3.2 million ($4m) prize had been doubled after he had secured his LIV Golf Jeddah title last October thanks to his positioning in the season-long standings.
Koepka is back in familiar territory this weekend at the course where he has twice won since joining LIV Golf. The American won his third LIV title in Saudi Arabia last October, defending the crown he had won in the desert 12 months earlier.
It was by no means an easy victory for the five-time major champion, who had to see off now Smash GC teammate, Talor Gooch in a two-hole playoff. But it came with a huge unexpected financial bonus.
In defending his Jeddah title, Koepka also squeezed himself into third in the year-long standings, which added another £3.2 million prize to his LIV Golf earnings. Seemingly surprised, the American star only found out about his bonus in his post-victory interview.
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Asked if he had any idea that he had finished third in 2023 LIV rankings and doubled his prize money for the week, a perplexed Koepka replied with a smile: "I did? Sweet, that is a good feeling. Thanks for breaking the news!"
In total, the former PGA Tour star has won a staggering £23 million ($29m) in LIV prize money in just 22 events, and is only set to add to this tally across the rest of the 2024 campaign. Koepka earned one of the lucrative signing fees offered by the breakaway league too, with his reported to be in excess of £100 million.
In the weeks after his last victory in Saudi, Koepka opened up on the remarkable amounts of money on offer on the breakaway league, and his nine-figure signing bonus. "It [LIV Golf signing fee] was good," he told the BS w/ Jake Paul Podcast. "It was nine [figures]. It was pretty good, I was very happy with it, put it that way.”
He went on: "I’ll be honest with you, I signed for the dough, I’m 100% behind that. I don't know if tomorrow I can go and get in a car accident and never play golf again, but my family is taken care of and that was a big thing for me. I’m not doing it for anything else.
“Everybody else they go to their 9-5, most of them, and don’t like the 9-5 but they are doing it because they get their paycheque, and that is the same thing as us. In joining LIV, the five-time major champ gave up his playing rights on the PGA Tour, after being suspended for making the Saudi switch.
During his time on the Tour, Koepka announced himself as a modern great, with nine wins to his name including his major haul. With impressive performances of course came financial prizes, as the 33-year-old won a total of of £34 million ($43m) in prize money across 178 PGA Tour events.