Brooks Koepka Makes Unexpected Choice After Hitting Rock Bottom at DP World Tour Event

Brooks Koepka had a decent first round of the 2025 Amgen Irish Open. He was tied with Rory McIlroy and could have joined the race for the title going into Friday. However, at the end of 36 holes, the Smash GC captain had shot 7-over after an abysmal second round. He missed the cutline by quite a few strokes and didn’t make it to the weekend rounds. Everyone expected that he would go into a dark place once again, considering his overall 2025 season. Instead, he’s out celebrating the weekend off.

A post by Beers Fore Bogeys showed Koepka with his friends at what looks like a bar. The caption read, “Missed cut party @bkoepka 😘,” and the location was in Dublin. While Rory McIlroy was grabbing his emotional win at The K Club, Brooks chose to celebrate his early exit with a few beers with his mates. This is quite a drastic change from the guy who was so heartbroken for missing a cut in the majors that he mistreated his family. Of course, he apologized to his wife later for it.

Coming back to the topic, it seems that the Amgen Irish Open was not as big an event for Brooks Koepka as perhaps the PGA Championship. Hence, his reaction to missing the weekend action is drastically different. Whether you call it disrespect towards the National Open, something that McIlroy regards very highly, or just another way to let off some steam, Koepka’s reaction still comes as a huge surprise.

It was a stark contrast to his earlier reactions when things went sideways in early 2025. Ahead of the Irish Open, Koepka was refreshingly candid—“I played my way off [the Ryder Cup team], so I can’t be disappointed,” he said. “I haven’t played very good this year. It’s felt good and then its completely disappeared. It ebbs and flows. Golf’s crazy.” Being a five time major CHampions, Kopeka didn’t even make it over to the weekend in three of the four majors. This decline in performance, many have attributed to LIV, as fans argue that after joining the breakaway league, Koepka has not been much of a top golfer.

He further admitted, “I did it myself. It’s not anything I’m not aware of. I’m not shying away from it. It’s just bad timing.” He admitted putting struggles—especially from inside eight feet, once his strong suit—had eroded his confidence and performance throughout the season.

Interestingly, his reaction to this missed cut might make a lot more sense, when we consider that this was his debut at the Irish Open. So, without any history or deep attachment to the event, the stakes felt lower—making his drink-with-friends response much more relatable.

Whatever the case may be, the Irish Open wasn’t the last tournament he was planning to play to end the 2025 season. He is committed to another event this week. Hopefully, Brooks Koepka would be more interested in performing in that than he was at The K Club.

The next big challenge for Brooks Koepka

2025 hasn’t been great for Brooks Koepka overall. Apart from his failures in three of the four majors, he also had a bad time in LIV Golf this year. The only time he delivered a good performance was a T2 finish in Singapore. In fact, unlike the previous season, Koepka was not even the best player of his team, Smash GC. Talor Gooch led the charge for the squad as they finished third in the Team Championship. Perhaps that is why Bryson DeChambeau chose to face Gooch in a 1-on-1 match instead of having a blockbuster against his rival.

Coming back to the Koepka dilemma, he would be eager to find some form of rhythm on the course. And while the Irish Open might not have piqued his interest as much, he might push for a better performance at the $9 million event at Wentworth this week. Yes, Brooks Koepka is playing the 2025 BMW PGA Championship alongside Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, & Co. It will be interesting to see how he performs against the top Team Europe players as his fellow Americans compete in the Procore Championship at Napa Valley.