Bob MacIntyre on 'split' reaction in Hawaii to Brooks Kopeka's PGA Tour return
Scot feels fine about playing against five-time winner on US circuit but laments loss of Thomas Detry to LIV Golf
Bob MacIntyre has offered his opinion about Brooks Koepka’s sensational return to the PGA Tour - but the world No 7 is more concerned by losing one of his closest friends on the US circuit to LIV Golf.
Albeit with hefty financial penalties, including a $5 million charity donation, five-time major winner Koepka has been granted an immediate return to the PGA Tour after reapplying for membership following his decision to leave the LIV Golf League.
A similar pathway was offered to Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith, the three most recent major winners who are now playing on the Saudi-backed breakaway circuit, through a Returning Member Programme.
But, speaking at a LIV Golf season launch event in Florida on Tuesday, they all vowed to stay put in 2026, when Koepka will be back playing on a more regular basis against the likes of world No 1 Scottie Scheffler and career grand slam winner Rory McIlroy.
“Yeah, I mean, I see different looks and I see different sides of it,” MacIntyre, speaking exclusively to The Scotsman from Hawaii, where he is starting his year in this week’s Sony Open, said of Koepka being back as a PGA Tour player. “I want to play against the best and him being back helps that.
‘My job is to beat them’
"On the other side of it, rules and regulations…..are there any? I see them giving the February 2 deadline, but this time next year there might be someone else or a couple of others coming back.
“I’m just going to keep my head down and play golf. At the end of the day, if I’m going to peg it up against these guys in majors or on the PGA Tour or DP World Tour, my job is to beat them.”
Koepka will make his return in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines at the end of next month before also teeing up in the hugely-popular WM Phoenix Open the following week.
“There’s loads,” added MacIntyre in reply to being asked what the feeling had been among players at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu since the announcement was made by PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp.
“Some are happy that he’s back, some are 50-50 and there are some who feel he shouldn’t be back. And I totally understand every single side of it and I’ve got no arguments when they are put forward.
“There’s quite a split, so it will be interesting when a meeting is called. I don’t know when that will be as everyone is probably lying low just now since that news broke (smiling).”
As had been predicted, Thomas Detry has been confirmed as a new LIV Golf recruit, with the Belgian joining Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Thomas Pieters in the Four Aces line up for the new campaign, which starts in Saudi Arabia next month.
‘I’ve lost someone I can have lunch with on PGA Tour’
“Aye, it’s all been happening,” admitted MacIntyre, laughing, of Detry being one of his closest friends on the PGA Tour and also his team-mate in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
“I just found out a couple of days before it was released. It’s a shame but, look, it’s his decision and I will still be pals with him. He’s at a certain age now and I don’t need to know why he’s done. It’s just a shame that I’ve lost someone I can go and sit with for lunch on the PGA Tour.”
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