Players 2026: This tour pro is the newest member of the Brooks Koepka fan club. Here's why
Orlando Ramirez
PONTE VEDRA BEACH — Brooks Koepka was among the more popular members of the PGA Tour before he left for LIV Golf in 2022, his laidback vibe allowing him to fit in well with his peers even as he was claiming titles and brandishing himself among the top players in the game. It’s why his comeback this year under the newly created Returning Members Program was met with mostly positive reviews.
In actuality, Kopeka’s fan base among players has grown only grown, in part because of one of the conditions for his return: the five-time major winner cannot take a spot in the field of any tour event he plays in from another player; instead, the event must add two players to fill out a complete a threesome.
“I think every week somebody's thanked me, which has been kind of … it's weird. I don't know. Just never been thanked for playing an event before,” Koepka mentioned on the eve of competing in the Players Championship for the first time since 2022. “So it was cool. It's kind of nice. It's a good opportunity for those guys to get in and play, and if they play good, you know, hopefully keep it running for the rest of the year.”
Among those on the lookout for Koepka this week at the Players Championship is Seamus Power. The 39-year-old Irishman got one of the extra spots at TPC Sawgrass, along with Patton Kizzire.
“I haven’t seen Brooks yet this week,” Power said on Tuesday afternoon after his practice round. “Hopefully I’ll see him at some point.”
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Power is playing on tour this season with conditional status after his exemption for winning the 2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship ran out last fall and he finished outside the top 100 the FedEx Cup points list in 2025 (117th). Grateful to play in any event he can get into, Power is especially so in this the tour’s flagship event—where the purse is worth $25 million and the FedEx Cup points are the biggest of any event.
“It wasn’t even something that was on my radar a couple weeks ago,” said Power of the Players, until being made aware of the “Brooks” loophole. “It's great, he's back on tour. The fact he got me in this week is a bonus.”
This is the fifth time Power is competing in the Players, his best finish being T-33 in 2022. It’s why he was out doing his due diligence on Tuesday, playing as a single over the final few holes of his practice round, only his caddie keeping him company in the late afternoon.
“It was always going to be week to week for me, I knew that going in [to the season],” Power said. But with more FedEx Cup points available, a solid performance here can be a springboard for returning to full status on the tour.
“This week is important,” Power said. “It’s a cycle where, you know, you’ve got to play better and you got to get in [events], and when you do get in, you got to take advantage of it.”
Power is 88th on the current FedEx Cup points list, making the cut in four of five starts and posting a T-11 at the Farmers Insurance Open. He knows from experience on tour that players make the majority of their points in three or four events. “The thing is, you never know. You never know which week it’s going to be.”
Power is obviously hopeful this is the week, as have the others who benefitted from Koepka’s return in earlier event this season. This is Koepka’s fourth start. Of the six players who have gained access to events in the three previous tournaments, three have missed the cut. The best finish has come from A.J. Ewart, who posted a T-28 showing at the WM Phoenix Open in February.
Power is paired with Kizzire and Johnny Keefer, teeing off at 9:28 a.m. Thursday morning off the 10th tee. The goal is to not put too much pressure on himself.
An hour ahead of him, Koepka goes off the 10th tee with Akshay Bhatia and Tony Finau. Should Power play well, he’ll have even more reason to track down Koepka and let him know just how appreciative he really is.
