A 114-spot drop in the world rankings is a crisis for any golfer. Right now, it is Brooks Koepka’s. 2025 wasn’t a good year for him. So, it’s no wonder the rumors of him leaving LIV swirled around the golf world for the better part of the season. The nearing contract expiration with LIV Golf didn’t help the matter either. He denied those rumors, but the effects of his performance are showing up everywhere.

As per Data Golf, Brooks Koepka ranks 159th in the world, down from 45th when he started the season. That’s a fall of 114 ranks. He isn’t the only former top 50 player who now ranks outside 100. Tony Finau (147), Sahith Theegala (155), Sergio Garcia (140), Tom Kim (139), Sungjae Im (109), and Mackenzie Hughes (119) are the other guys.

Koepka’s case is a bit more concerning than other golfers, at least when it comes to OWGR. He played at this year’s Masters, ranked 33rd in the world, and now ranks 238th. On the other hand, he has missed 5 cuts this season and posted only four top 10s in 22 appearances. That’s not a good look for a golfer of his caliber, and Koepka is aware of it.

Following the Thursday round at the 2025 U.S. Open, Koepka confessed, “I’ve been working hard, just got into some bad habits and bad swing positions..now it’s starting to click.” The results do not prove that, but the fans would hope for a positive return from the five-time major champ anyway. Now, this does not mean Koepka will bid farewell to LIV.

“I’ve got a contract obligation out here to fulfill, and then we’ll see what happens,” he said ahead of LIV Golf Singapore. It is believed his contract runs through the 2026 season. Now, in case Koepka makes a return to the PGA Tour, he wouldn’t be the first LIV golfer to do so, but (arguably) the biggest.

Koepka’s poor performance has been visible all season. Back in June at the U.S. Open, he made an honest confession: “From the first weekend in April until about last week, you didn’t want to be around me. It drove me nuts. It ate at me. I haven’t been happy. It’s been very irritating.” This was when Koepka, for the first time in his career, missed back-to-back cuts at majors (the Masters and the PGA Championship).

Regardless, the backlash against his association with LIV Golf continues.

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Former DP World Tour pro argues Brooks Koepka’s move to LIV “backfired”

On a recent Talk Birdie to Me podcast, former DP World Tour pro Mark Allen declared, “I’ll say it out loud. I think LIV Golf has backfired for Brooks. I think LIV Golf has backfired for Cameron Smith, unfortunately. It’s not like we’re cheering for them to play badly. I used to love watching Brooks.”

The pros haven’t played as well in the 72-hole format since leaving the PGA Tour. But when it comes to how they’ve done in LIV events, the discussion gets trickier. For instance, among them, Brooks Koepka and Cam Smith share 8 LIV wins, with Koepka winning five of them (the most after Joaquin Niemann’s 7).

Yet, outside that, Koepka was once a promising name. One of the most successful on the major stage of this generation, Koepka’s five major wins were matched by Rory McIlroy this year.

“It [Koepka’s winning spree] was Rory McIlroy-like; it was Tiger Woods-like, and he was really part of the excitement of a new name coming through that did things his way. It was great to watch, and we desperately want him back contending at majors,” Allen adds, a sentiment often echoed by several golf analysts.

Nonetheless, that’s indeed a sentiment that most of the golf world will sympathize with as well.