No. 1-ranked Brooks Koepka is set to return to competitive golf next week for the first time in nearly three months after dealing with a knee injury that kept him out of the Presidents Cup.
Koepka’s agent, Blake Smith of Hambric Sports, said in an email Monday that Koepka will return at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, a European Tour event that the golfer had committed to some time ago. The tournament had announced Monday that Koepka would be taking part in a pre-tournament exhibition on Jan. 14.
“Brooks’ rehab for his knee has gone great the past three months and he has met all of his physical therapy goals,” Smith said. “He feels as good as he ever has and is excited to tee it up next week.”
Koepka won twice in 2019, capturing his fourth major title at the PGA Championship and also winning the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. After finishing fourth at the Tour Championship, Koepka on Aug. 26 underwent a stem-cell procedure for a partially torn patella tendon.
The procedure was to relieve discomfort and strengthen the left knee that Koepka said had been bothering him since March.
He returned in early October and pronounced himself fit at the Shriners tournament in Las Vegas, where he missed the cut. Then, while defending his CJ Cup title in South Korea, Koepka slipped while walking on a concrete bridge during the second round and felt pain in his knee. He withdrew from the tournament and has not played since, missing the WGC-HSBC Champions and the Presidents Cup.
Koepka, who was No. 1 at the end of 2018, lost the top position for a time early in 2019 but regained it with his victory at the PGA Championship. Earlier, he tied for second at the Masters, then was second at the U.S. Open and tied for fourth at The Open.
It is unclear where Koepka will make his 2020 U.S. debut. He is also scheduled to play the Saudi International event on the European Tour that begins Jan. 30.