LEARN TO LOVE THE INEVITABLE - WITH BROOKS KOEPKA AND LIV, IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME

Mario Russo

Exactly 24 hours before he kicked off yet another historic Sunday at a major event, Brooks Koepka was sucked back into the reality of playing golf in enemy territory.

As the 2:30 tee time between himself and fellow LIV golfer Bryson DeChambeau was announced on Saturday, a series of ‘boo birds’ landed and defecated on the tee box of the first hole.

Words were far from minced within the gallery at Oak Hill’s opening challenge. What at first rang as a thunderous ‘Beau’ to emphasize the lengthy drive of Koepka’s counterpart quickly corrected itself as the two-time PGA Champion reached down to grab his loose tee.

It was certainly not ‘Beau.’

Yet as the negativity rained down on Koepka while walking away from the first tee, the 33-year old strutted as he did when things were rolling just a handful of years ago. When upgrades to the size of his trophy case were in peak demand.

When the inevitable seemed unavoidable.

His broad shoulders, symmetrically hinged below the neck. Both eyes lined themselves up with the only thing that needed finding throughout the week - the flagstick - as it willfully wiggled itself amidst a windy Saturday afternoon.

Koepka was in control. Of himself, his emotions and most of all, his game when it needed the guidance of a steady hand. His three birdies on the back nine saw Koepka’s precision around the greens enliven as he reaped the stroke benefits from it.

He wasted no time chasing the blood in the water in round three, precisely while he stood on the 17th green as the leading Corey Conners fell into hot water on the right side bunker of the 16th hole.

That’s when the train got back on track for Koepka. The moment the inevitable became possible. The first-tee boos quickly changed their tune after Koepka sank his birdie putt on 17.

For the first time in a long time, there was applause. It continued into his 2:30 tee time Sunday as well, with much more than just the reclamation of his identity at stake.

Unlike how the last major unfolded for Koepka at Augusta National, the spotlight never oversaturated or deteriorated him as he continued to walk the course at Oak Hill.

No longer was Koepka playing not to lose like he did at the Masters while paired up with come-from-behind winner Jon Rahm. He was playing to dominate this time around, and it showed as he rolled in seven birdies during the final round on Sunday to help secure his third career PGA Championship.

Whether it was the thought process behind Koepka winning another major, or simply a LIV golfer beating the rest of the PGA Tour on the game’s biggest stage, both results were expected to simultaneously cause an uproar in the world of golf.

Yet this past weekend saw both of these candide ‘what if’s’ come true in just a single sitting, and the sport couldn't have been thrusted into a better spot. The PGA Tour doesn't have to hang its head after being dominated by the star that got away. Nor does LIV have any sort of edge over the Tour after finding success for a consecutive major event.

The PGA Championship resurfaced the love that was lost from the game as a result of last summer’s divide. It may seem like PGA vs LIV for 48 weeks of the year, but for the remaining four that make up the calendar's major events, the rivalry becomes obsolete. Players become participants.

Hearts are opened up.

And that is precisely where Brooks Koepka resides after conquering his third major victory in the state of New York. He entered the opening round on Thursday as the enemy, the one you actively pray for to summon a downfall.

Yet in just four days, Koepka has reacquainted himself with his old game, found similar success, and kickstarted a new identity. Will he truly come to terms with any of what he discovered this past weekend is a question that will have to be answered as the next pair of majors come and go.

Whether he characteristically takes what he earns and runs away with it, or just as well forgets it and fades away, the inevitability that always stirred in Brooks has tethered its way back on course.

Love is a scary sight indeed.