Staff WriterChase Koepka is walking into LIV Golf Promotions this week like a man who’s already played the back nine in a gale and lived to tell the tale. Three LIV Golf League cards are up for grabs, but for him this isn’t just a lottery ticket with nicer branding—it’s the finish line to a long, stubborn rebuild, fuelled by months of competitive graft on the Asian Tour and The International Series.
Round 1 begins Thursday at Black Diamond Ranch Golf & Country Club, and Koepka arrives with something golfers crave more than a hot putter: a body that’s finally cooperating, and a game that has been stress-tested under real tournament pressure rather than wishful thinking on a range.
A rebuild that started with a grim 2024
If Koepka’s past year reads a bit like a medical drama with fewer happy endings, that’s because a good chunk of 2024 was swallowed by injury and uncertainty—an especially cruel pairing for any athlete, never mind a golfer who needs sleep, feel, and repetition like oxygen.
“2024 was definitely tough,” Koepka said. “I had surgery for nerve damage, which was causing a lot of issues, even affecting my sleep. When you’re not sleeping, everything else suffers too.
“The hardest part was not knowing exactly what was wrong at first. I saw a lot of doctors who couldn’t pinpoint the issue, which was frustrating. Eventually, I was fortunate to work with Dr Neal ElAttrache in LA. He got me on the right path.”
That last line is the kind golfers understand instantly: you can handle pain, you can handle poor form, but not knowing why is the true mind-eraser. The reset, for Chase Koepka, wasn’t fast or flashy. It was slow, controlled, and—by golf standards—borderline monastic.
The International Series as a proving ground
Rather than reappear with a grand comeback speech and a carefully staged “I’m back” moment, Koepka chose the far more convincing route: play his way into shape. He used The International Series as the competitive bridge—high-quality fields, proper pressure, and enough rounds to sand down the rust.
“After surgery, it took another four or five months before I even started hitting wedges,” he explained. “I’d only played four or five rounds before my first Asian Tour event in the Philippines, where I was pretty rusty. Then the following week, I finished top 10 in India on what I think is one of the toughest courses in the world.
“From there it was a bit up and down, but ball-striking-wise I felt really good. Putting was probably the main thing that lagged behind. Toward the end of the year, I played 14 or 15 weeks in a row, and my body held up. That was a big confidence boost. I actually started playing better the longer I was out there.”
That’s the golfer’s version of a full systems check. The swing can look gorgeous on Instagram; it only becomes trustworthy when it holds up on Thursday morning with a scorecard in your pocket and consequences at every corner.
His 2025 results have had the shape of a comeback season—uneven, but trending in the right direction—including a tied-eighth at International Series India presented by DLF and a tied-12th at International Series Philippines presented by BingoPlus. In comeback terms, those are not just finishes; they’re proof-of-life.
What he learned inside LIV Golf’s deep end
Koepka also isn’t arriving at Promotions as some wide-eyed rookie. He’s been around the top tier before—LIV Golf 2023 gave him a view of the elite environment, and the perspective that comes with it. The difference now is he’s turning that experience into a plan rather than a memory.
“Being around the very highest level of golf was probably the coolest part for me,” he said. “Just learning from those guys day in, day out was huge. I didn’t play as well as I would have liked overall, but there were definitely some special moments; the hole-in-one in Adelaide stands out for sure.
“A lot of it was about growth. I feel like if I get another opportunity out there, I’ll be in a much better place heading into the 2026 season.”
That’s not bravado; it’s a player describing the difference between being there and belonging there. And if you’ve ever watched golf punish the even slightly unprepared, you’ll know that gap is real.
Promotions: three cards, and a lot more on the table
Yes, LIV Golf Promotions is the headline: three cards, a short window, and a high-wire atmosphere where every shot feels like it’s carrying a suitcase full of career consequences. But Koepka is also eyeing the knock-on opportunities attached to the week—particularly what it can mean for The International Series and the bigger calendar beyond it.
“They’re the Asian Tour’s elevated events, and they’ve done a great job building them up,” he said. “The quality of fields just keeps getting stronger.
“You’re also playing for more than just a win. There are Major Championship opportunities on the line, spots into The Masters, into The Open Championship. In Macau this year, it was the top three who qualified for The Open. That’s incredibly cool.
“That’s what you want as a player, to keep stepping up. Majors are the ultimate goal, and being able to reach them through the Asian Tour and The International Series is a huge incentive.”
For Chase Koepka, that’s the point: a pathway that rewards proper form, not reputation. Promotions is a pressure cooker, but it’s also an honest one. If the body holds up, if the ball-striking stays sharp, and if the putter decides to stop sulking, there’s a very real route back to where he believes he belongs—set up not by hype, but by hard miles and harder rounds.
And in golf, that’s still the only comeback story that counts.
