Brooks Koepka's golf ranking earns him bogey-free paycheck
While Tiger Woods may still be the biggest draw in golf, Brooks Koepka is the top golfer in the world.
Koepka dethroned Dustin Johnson in the Official World Golf Ranking taking the No. 1 spot, winning four majors out of the last nine tournaments he's played. His success on the greens has drawn a large number of opportunities in bonuses and endorsement deals.
Koepka told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo that his business strategy involves aligning himself with brands and partnerships that share his viewpoints.
“It’s been fun dealing with sponsors and dealing with different partnerships and meeting a bunch of people,” he said on Wednesday.
The 29-year-old's dominance on the golf course has boosted his career earnings to $30 million. Koepka could earn $15 million of a $70 million bonus fund from the 2019 FedEx Cup Playoffs. The playoff system is a series of three golf tournaments that will determine the season champion of the U.S.-based PGA Tour, where Koepka holds the top ranking.
Koepka has endorsement deals with Nike and Michelob Ultra but has chosen to be a free agent when it comes to landing an equipment deal -- not doing so could be costing him millions of dollars. The golfer said keeping his options open allows him the opportunity to select from a variety of golf equipment companies, which helps his game.
“I just wanted to play with everything that I've got right now in the bag,” he said. “If some company comes out with a new driver, a new ball, new wedges, anything like that, I’ve got the opportunity to go out there and test it, see if it’s going make my game better.”
Koepka said his key to success on the PGA Tour is to approach the game in the same way he’s played it for the past 25 years.
“I don’t think about anything,” he said when asked about his thought process on the course. “Go play the best I can each day and go play the best I can each week.”
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He added that winning major tournament championships is easier than winning PGA Tour events because of the amount of pressure pro golfers place on themselves during the major events.
“A lot of them, they just won’t win and then mentally some of them just aren’t strong enough and then from there you got a few that’ll play good,” Koepka said. “So you only have to beat a certain amount of guys.”
The PGA Championship winner Koepka and Masters champion Woods will face off at the Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey this weekend for the first of three FedEx Cup Playoff events scheduled to be played over three consecutive weeks.