Brooks Koepka: 'If other people had done what I’ve done, everybody would anoint them'

Brooks Koepka played the disrespect card when he was on his terrific run from 2017-19, and nothing has changed since he joined LIV Golf and won another major.

Speaking to Golf Monthly, the Jupiter resident not only lamented he still does not command the respect owed to a five-time major winner but continued to boast that his mental toughness separates him from his peers.

“I was never the guy at college and I’m not the guy out here," Koepka, who was a three-time All-American at Florida State, told the London-based publication. "Five majors in and I’m still not the guy. If other people had done what I’ve done, then everybody would anoint them.”

Koepka, 33, overcame an atypical 2022 season in which he lost his confidence while attempting to bounce back from major knee surgery. In 2023, he won his fifth major at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill, finished second at the Masters after surrendering the lead to Jon Rahm in the final round, and became the lone LIV golfer to earn a spot on the Ryder Cup team.

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That success carried over to the LIV Golf league where Koepka was third in the individual standings, winning two events and finishing third in two others. He earned $17.7 million in 14 events this year on the Saudi-financed tour. Koepka joined LIV in 2022.

Koepka is one of 20 golfers with at least five major championships. He trails just Tiger Woods (15) and Phil Mickelson (six) among active golfers.

“Honestly, I’m just built a little bit different," Koepka said. "It’s just being mentally better. Look at Tiger. He was just mentally better than everybody else. If you know you can mentally beat everybody, and have more discipline, that plays a huge part. I know I will mentally outlast everybody, especially when it’s very difficult.

"I’ll keep striking the ball consistently out of the middle, put it where I want it, and then kind of wait my turn. And when that comes, I’ll step on the gas."

Koepka doubled down on that confidence and arrogance at the Ryder Cup when asked how many of the 24 golfers on the U.S. and European teams would welcome playing the final match with the outcome on the line.

"Very few," he said. He then said most players possess "false confidence."

“It’s all mental, there’s nothing physical that you can do," he told Golf Monthly. "I enjoy the bigger stage, I enjoy the bigger crowds, and the louder people get, the more I enjoy it and it’s easier for me.

"Everything else is kind of a practice session for those majors. It’s not a front, it’s the whole reason that you tee it up, right? To be in contention with nine to play, within three on the back nine. I love competition and I love just trying to beat everybody."

Koepka also has been honest about his failures, saying he "choked" at the Masters. He also said he should have won nine majors at this point if he had not "blown" four of them.

More: Jupiter's Brooks Koepka believes he will win a lot more majors. But how many?

Koepka told Golf Monthly his coach, Pete Cowan, gives him "more crap" than anybody, which he welcomes.

"He’s always on top of me," Koepka said. "Nothing’s ever good enough and he’s always dogging me, which I like. … Everybody knows what I expect and I know what they expect of me and it’s very simple.

"I feel like I’m very close to where my peak is and everybody understands what the goal is and where the target is. We don’t have to move the goalposts a lot. I expect high standards of myself. I feel like I don’t work hard enough, but I probably work harder than 99.9 percent of the guys out here."

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Brooks Koepka to Golf Monthly: I'm mentally better than LIV golf peers