Former World No. 1 Brooks Koepka was in complete shock when the Genesis Scottish Open announced its field earlier this month. The 36-year-old was returning to the event, co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, after 11 long years. However, when the entry list came out, his name wasn’t on it, even though he had received a sponsor’s exemption. Although the confusion cleared once the updated list was released, Koepka told reporters at the Scottish Open press conference that the incident left him panicking for two hours straight.
“Yeah, there was a bit of a panic, I guess, on Sunday. “I called my agent, Blake Smith, in a bit of a panic. Because I got a few text messages that I had withdrawn, and then I went on the — what do we call it, like the PGA Tour—our little app.
“Yeah, probably first time I used it in a while, since it got downloaded [on] my phone. I didn’t see any name, either, and I was in a little bit of a panic. I knew he was out in Vegas. It’s 7.00 am in Vegas. Probably not going to reach anybody. There [were] a few, probably two hours of complete panic [about] what had gone on. I couldn’t figure it out.”
He must be grateful that the whole thing was a mistake because 2026 hasn’t been too kind to the West Palm Beach, Florida, native since his return to the PGA Tour: 1 top-10 finish, 1 withdrawal, and 6 top-25 finishes. He ranks 81st in the FedEx Cup standings.
Clearly, he needs the opportunity at The Renaissance Club to improve his standing and qualify for the FedEx Cup later this year. Not to mention, when he returned to the American tour, he agreed to a steep readmission package under the PGA Tour Returning Member Program. Reports say Koepka paid a direct $5 million readmission fee.
However, his total financial penalty is estimated to be between $50 million and $85 million in forfeited equity and bonuses. So, he has to make that money back, and that includes competing for the lion’s share of the $9 million at stake in the Scottish Open. This will be his debut at the Scottish Open since the tournament shifted to The Renaissance Club.
Players will tee off on Thursday, July 9. While Koepka’s withdrawal was a mistake, many withdrew for good from the tournament this week.
12 notable names have withdrawn from the event, including six-time PGA Tour winner Tony Finau, who pulled out on Monday of tournament week. Here’s the list of remaining names:
- Keith Mitchell
- Jhonattan Vegas
- Taylor Pendrith
- Zecheng Dou
- Chad Ramey
- Jimmy Stanger
- Brice Garnett
- Chandler Phillips
- William Mouw
- Rico Hoey
- Adrien Dumont de Chassart
For Finau, the withdrawal means he will miss out on The Open. This comes after he failed to qualify for the previous three majors of the season. It will also be his first time since 2014 that he won’t be playing in golf’s oldest major.
Despite the withdrawals, the organizers could fill the spots with other names, including Austin Eckroat, Max McGreevy, Michael Brennan, Oliver Lindell, Karl Vilips, and Michael Hollick.
It looks like the wave of withdrawals had made it easier for everyone to believe that Brooks Koepka was on the list of withdrawals. But in reality, the same had left the former World No. 1 panicking.
