What Brooks Koepka Will Bring to Motor City Golf Club

It’s not often that expansion teams begin their journey by adding one of the most accomplished athletes in the sport to its roster. With Brooks Koepka, that’s exactly what Motor City Golf Club just did.

The Detroit-based squad will begin competing in the 2027 season inside SoFi Center, becoming the seventh team in TGL presented by SoFi. The addition of Koepka adds a boost of star power to the Motor City team, providing an accomplished anchor and one of the game’s most familiar faces to build around.

RELATED: Brooks Koepka Becomes First Player to Join Motor City Golf Club

More players will join Brooks on Motor City soon. But first, let’s break down Brooks' strengths, consider how they'll translate to SoFi Center, and explore what this means for Motor City Golf Club this coming season...

PATH TO THE TOP

Few names in golf today hold as much championship-level credibility as Brooks Koepka. A five-time major champion and former world No. 1, Koepka has been one of the most recognizable players in golf over the past decade.

His unconventional path to the top of the sport is one of the many reasons for his fan appeal. After playing collegiately at Florida State, Koepka’s first stint as a professional came on the Challenge Tour in Europe.

He quickly earned a three-win promotion to what is now known as the DP World Tour, working his way into the top-40 of the Official World Golf Ranking before his first full PGA TOUR season. Along the way, he became just the second American to win the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award, an honor handed out since 1960 on the European circuit.

THE RECORD BROOKS

When Brooks won the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage Black, he held both the U.S. Open and Wanamaker Trophies, both in back-to-back fashion. Koepka is the only player in men’s golf history to hold two major championship trophies simultaneously, having won both in consecutive years.

He is one of just four players since 1980 to win a fifth career professional major before turning 35, alongside legends Tom Watson, Seve Ballesteros and Tiger Woods. Koepka is also one of just two players currently under age 50 with five or more major championship wins, the other being Boston Common Golf's Rory McIlroy.

With a career average of 69.65, Brooks holds the PGA Championship all-time scoring record among players with 30 or more rounds played. He also holds the PGA Championship records for low 36-hole score, largest 36-and 54-hole lead and lowest closing 54-hole total score. From 2016 through 2021, Koepka was a combined 92 strokes under par in majors – a whopping 63 strokes better than any other player in that span.

Koepka followed up his back-to-back U.S. Open victories in 2017 and 2018 with a runner-up finish at Pebble Beach in 2019. Brooks was the first player to finish either first or second at the U.S. Open in three consecutive years since the great Bobby Jones in 1928, ’29 and ’30.

Motor City Golf Club got a good one.

PRESSURE PERFORMER

Perhaps no player in the game today is more inspired by the sport’s biggest stages than Koepka. From 2017 through 2019, Koepka entered the final round of a PGA TOUR event within four strokes of the lead on twelve different occasions. His final round scoring average in those situations was a stellar 67.3. When the pressure is on, he typically steps up.

In 2019, Koepka finished in the top-four in all four major championships, one of just three players in the last fifty years to achieve that feat (Woods in 2005, Jordan Spieth in 2015).

What about team golf?

Koepka has represented the United States in the Ryder Cup four times in his career. He’s never lost a Ryder Cup singles match, posting a record of 3-0-1. There are 42 players who have played for the American side at the Ryder Cup at least four times – only six men have done so without losing any singles matches, and only one other active player can make that claim (Justin Thomas of Atlanta Drive GC).

BROOKS’ SKILL SET

Tee-to-green, Koepka has assembled a stout statistical resume during his professional career. He ranked in the top-30 on TOUR in strokes gained off the tee in each of his first seven full seasons there. During that same time span, his average driving distance rank was 12.7.

During his incredible 2019 campaign, Koepka led the PGA TOUR in average approach proximity from 175 to 200 yards away. Koepka’s average of 28’10” was nearly five feet closer than the PGA TOUR mean that season.

On the greens, Koepka ranked in the top-20 on TOUR in birdie conversion percentage in four of his first five seasons on TOUR, again speaking to his penchant to come through in the biggest moments.

MOTOR CITY: MORE TO COME

While Koepka is the first player named to Motor City GC’s roster, there’s more work to be done to round out this season’s final roster.

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But it’s tough to imagine a stronger first piece of the puzzle than a five-time major champion who thrives under the brightest lights in the sport.