Brooks Koepka Gives Up European Tour Card

Brooks Koepka is shifting his focus towards the PGA Tour. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

Brooks Koepka has decided to forgo European Tour membership for the 2016 season, completing one of the more unlikely journeys in the sport of golf over the past few years. After logging thousands of miles and playing in more countries than most American players ever visit, he’s finally heading home–for good.

After a stellar amateur career at Florida State, Koepka turned pro and hopped across the pond to play the Challenge Tour, the European Tour’s developmental circuit. In 2013, he notched three Challenge Tour victories, securing a battlefield promotion to the top level. His unconventional path to the European Tour led to publicity, resulting in a slew of PGA Tour sponsorship exemptions. By the early part of this year, Koepka was a winner on both circuits and the reigning Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year.

While balancing life on the world’s top two golf tours can be tough, it’s nothing new for European players. Koepka stood apart from his peers in that he was the only American to try and make it work (and no, Patrick Reed’s three European Tour starts over the past year don’t count). His dual membership made him one of golf’s most fascinating players.

And yet, one can easily see why Koepka made the decision that he did. The Florida native has already teed it up in 26 events this year, more than most players. No longer in desperate pursuit of tour status, Koepka doesn’t need to be making that many reps, especially with the heavy travel schedule that is required of the modern pro golfer.

Perhaps more significantly, dual membership offers little real benefit to Koepka. That’s not true of top European players, who play the PGA Tour for the larger purses and the European Tour for the Ryder Cup points. In contrast, Koepka can earn Ryder Cup points only by playing the PGA Tour. In fact, meeting the required number of starts in Europe would likely clutter Koepka’s schedule with low-wattage events, ones that he might prefer not to play if he doesn’t have to.

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Koepka’s decision is easy to understand, but that doesn’t mean that it’s good for the game. This is just the latest episode in the ongoing saga of the PGA Tour siphoning top players from the European Tour. Adam Scott, Angel Cabrera, Paul Casey and Danny Lee are just a few recent examples. Now, it looks like Koepka will join that list.

One can’t really blame the players–after all, the PGA Tour offers more prize money. Still, there was a time when a legitimate divide existed between the two tours. The life of a pro golfer was not as hospitable to splitting time between them, which led to hearty competition on both sides and a distinct identity for each. Things have changed over the years, though. Take a look at a photo of Team Europe from the 2014 Ryder Cup, and all you’ll see is a group of Florida-residing European expatriates.

The competitiveness of the two tours is also an issue. No one has ever disputed that the PGA and European Tours are the two most prestigious in the world, but lately, the divide between them seems to be greater than ever. Not counting majors or WGCs, the PGA Tour held 16 events that awarded 50 or more Official World Golf Ranking points to the winner (defined as an event with an “average” strength of field) in 2015. In contrast, the European Tour held four. Clearly, it has trouble holding onto its stars.

Of course, Koepka’s loss is another man’s gain. After initially finishing in the first spot out of the bubble, Englishman Ben Evans will move up one spot to 110th in the Race to Dubai, just barely good enough to retain his European Tour status. For Evans, a rookie in 2015, this is absolutely huge. With just a couple of low-wattage top 10s this year, there’s no guarantee he would have been able to get his card back.

With all due respect to Evans, however, the European Tour would rather have Koepka. His decision to leave behind his original tour is par for the course, but that doesn’t mean golf fans should be pleased about it.

Next: 10 Race to Dubai Sleepers

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