Brooks Koepka Says Fans Will ‘Hate’ His Praise for Rory McIlroy

Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy are easily two of the greatest golfers of their generation. Truth be told, with Koepka owning five majors and Rory having four, they’re both among the greatest of all time.

While the two superstars obviously don’t play against one another often these days, with Koepka in LIV Golf and McIlroy on the PGA Tour, there’s still a healthy level of competition between the two, which comes with mutual respect. 

In fact, during an appearance on the February 21 episode of the YouTube show “The Scoop” with Golf.com’s Claire Rogers, Koepka was asked if he had to tee it up with one golfer for every round the rest of his life, who would it be? His answer? Rory McIlroy. 

“Most people will probably hate this answer, but Rory,” said Koepka. “I feel like maybe — divulging a lot — but there’s a competition. Maybe he’s that way or not, but, like, I’ve got to get one more [major championship] than him. He’s going to get five soon, and it’s like a one-up thing…

“For me, it’s like I want to try to be a little better than him because I think he’s arguably one of the best players ever,” Koepka continued. “So it’s just trying to one-up. For me, that’s how it feels anyways. I show up at a major, I’m like, ‘Okay, I want to try to make sure I get a big enough lead before he starts closing that gap.”

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Brooks Koepka Passed Rory McIlroy in Major Victories at the 2023 PGA Championship

Koepka and McIlroy took different paths to golf superstardom.

While McIlroy turned pro at age 18 and made an immediate impact, winning on the DP World Tour at 19, Koepka, who was born one day shy of Rory’s first birthday, took the college route and didn’t turn pro until the age of 22 and had to work his way up through golf’s equivalent of the minor leagues. 

By the time Koepka played his first full season as a full-fledged member of the PGA Tour in 2014-15, McIlroy had already won four major championships, the last being the 2014 PGA Championship. Most assumed Rory would continue to add to his total, but it simply hasn’t happened. 

Koepka, meanwhile, has surpassed his friend and rival in the major title department. He won back-to-back U.S. Open titles in 2017 and 2018, then went back-to-back at the PGA Championship in 2018 and 2019. Brooks then became the first player from LIV Golf to win a major with a victory at the 2023 PGA Championship. 

McIlroy still holds the edge in overall PGA Tour victories with 24 to Koepka’s nine. Brooks owns a pair of individual wins with LIV Golf.

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Koepka and McIlroy Will Next Compete With One Another at The Masters

As the major championships are the only tournaments in which Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy can compete with one another, the next time they’ll tee it up at the same venue will be at the 2024 edition of The Masters at famed Augusta National, which begins Thursday, April 11.

Koepka held the 54-hole lead at Augusta a season ago, but struggled during his final round and finished tied for second with Phil Mickelson, four shots behind Jon Rahm. Brooks also tied for second in 2019, losing by a stroke to Tiger Woods.

While McIlroy will look to tie Koepka’s five major wins at The Masters, he’ll also be hoping to become just the sixth player in history to complete the career Grand Slam. Rory held a four-shot lead heading into the final round of the 2011 Masters, but shot an 8-over 80 to finish tied for 15th. He finished in solo second in 2022, but missed the cut last year.

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