Brooks Koepka chooses Rory McIlroy as ideal lifelong playing partner ahead of the 2024 Masters; predicts his 5th Major soon

Brooks Koepka has picked Rory McIlroy as his ideal lifelong playing partner. He also predicted that McIlroy would get his fifth Major championship "soon."

Koepka was recently a guest on Golf.com's The Scoop, a chat show hosted by Claire Rogers. In the interview, Rogers asked him about the player he would like to play alongside for the rest of his life.

The five-time Major champion proceeded to take McIlroy's name, and then talked about their healthy competitive rivalry.

"Cause I feel like maybe divulging a lot, but it's like, there's a competition. And I'm sure maybe he's [McIlroy] that way or not, but like, okay, I've got to get one more than him. And then he's going to get to five soon. And it's like a one-up thing. And that's we are the same age, I think he's like a year older, but you know where we are in the game," he said.

"Like, okay, then it's just for me, it's like, okay, I want to try to be a little bit better than him because I think he's arguably one of the best players ever. So it's just trying to one-up. Um, for me, that's how it feels anyway. Like, I know, okay, I show up at a major, I'm like, okay, that's, I want to try to make sure that I can get big enough lead before he starts closing in that gap," Koepka added.

At the start of the 2023 season, Koepka and McIlroy were tied at four Majors each. But Koepka went on to win another at the PGA Championship, and also came close at the Masters.

Although Rory McIlroy didn't win another, he made three back-to-back top tens in Majors after missing the cut at the Augusta National. This year, both will be eager to add another major trophy to their cabinet.

---

"I remember more of the ones I lost" - Brooks Koepka on learning from losses

During the recent episode of The Scoop, Claire Rogers asked Brooks Koepka about the first win he remembered. The five-time Major champion said he didn't remember the wins, but he did remember his defeats.

"I remember more of the ones I lost," he said as per Golf.com. "I remember coming out and like crying to my dad, and my dad was like, ‘What are you doing? Play better. You won’t cry.’

"I remember more the defeats than I do the wins, and that’s so true even to this day," the nine-time PGA Tour winner continued. "The wins are kind of a blur and they happen so fast, but the losses, if you learn from them or do it the right way, you can learn a lot more. But they’ll also keep you awake at night too."

The 33-year-old American will next compete at the LIV Golf Jeddah, which will take place from March 1 to 3 at King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia.

Koepka is a two-time defending champion there, having won both editions so far. Last year, he beat Talor Gooch by one stroke to win his third title on the Saudi-backed circuit.