World No 2 Brooks Koepka is relishing the task of facing Europe’s best in a welcome return to European Tour action at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA.
The American, who spent two successful years on the Challenge Tour in 2012 and 2013, is a major threat to home tour domination this week, coming off a 2018 season that included wins at the US Open and PGA Championship.
Not only is Koepka at the peak of his game, but his laid-back approach to touring in Europe is another added bonus for the Florida native.
‘It’s obviously nice to be back at Abu Dhabi Golf Club,’ Koepka said.
‘I enjoy playing this golf course. It’s a fun place to be, a fun place to come back to and kind of feels like I’m reliving those memories when I was on The European Tour and Challenge Tour over here.
‘It’s always nice to bring those back.
‘There are a lot of guys you don’t get to see very often. I made some great friendships over here when I was playing, and not getting to see them all the time isn’t always fun. But when you come back and see everybody, it makes it feel a little bit more special.’
While pouring cold water on the idea of a full-time return to the European circuit, he did admit to preferring the lifestyle ‘across the pond’.
‘A lot of them (memories) are off the golf course,’ he said.
‘I think a lot of them are just from travelling week-to-week. The camaraderie over here is a bit different. I like it more, personally, than I do in the States. It seems there are 30 or 40 guys on a flight, basically the whole flight is everybody, you know, players, caddies, things like that.
‘Everyone’s always laughing, joking. The attitude over here is a little different. The sense of humour over here is a little better… so it’s quite fun.’
The 28-year-old makes his second start in the new addition to the Rolex Series alongside double-defending champion Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrell Hatton at 9:40am SA time on Thursday.
