Scott O’Neil wasn’t surprised to see the PGA Tour welcome Brooks Koepka back with open arms, post haste. In fact, he’d have done the same thing if the shoe were on the other foot.
The LIV Golf CEO spoke on Wednesday during a leadership panel at the breakaway league’s kick-off event. Koepka became the first elite player to part ways with LIV when he left the league in December. On Monday, the PGA Tour announced that Koepka had been reinstated with a financial penalty and would return at the Farmers Insurance Open. The PGA Tour also opened a limited-time pathway back for “elite” players called the “Returning Member Program,” which will be open to Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith until Feb. 2.
“I believe in free agency.,” O’Neil said of Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour. “Call me old-fashioned. I believe in open pathways. I believe that people should be where they want to be.”
O’Neil wouldn’t divulge the specifics of the separation agreement between Kopeka and LIV Golf. Koepka had one year remaining on the contract he signed to join the Saudi-backed league in 2022, but the two parties agreed to “amicably” part ways on Dec. 23. O’Neil said there’s no ill will between him and Koepka, and it was clear that what the rebel league was offering wasn’t for the five-time major winner.
“I don’t think this was where he wanted to be,” O’Neil said. “He talked about some of the challenges publicly, as did his wife, and I want people in the room that are going to wrap their arms around us and say, ‘This is what I want.’ Because when you choose LIV, you’re not choosing easy.
“There is no holy war, at least from our side,” O’Neil said later. “It’s like, we are about LIV Golf and growing the game globally. Actually, I love Brooks. I root for Brooks. I am hoping the best for him and his family. If this is what he wants, there will be no better cheerleader for him than me. I’ll tell you what, good for him if he’s getting what he wants and we get what we want. I couldn’t be happier for him and for us.”
Koepka joined LIV at its second event in 2022. At the time, he was concerned about mounting injuries and had doubts about his long-term competitive future. But he won the 2023 PGA Championship and became the first LIV player to win five times on the circuit.
But it’s clear that, for whatever reason, Koepka and LIV didn’t align. Be it the travel, the format, the asks of a start-up league or a combination of everything, Koepka wanted out of the decision he made three-plus years ago.
“You know what’s not for everybody? Delivering on social and making sure fans know you,” O’Neil said. “You know what’s not for everybody? Making sure that at the event, when we see these little kids, those same little kids that were our players 20, 30 years ago — touching them, taking photos with them, taking selfies, signing autographs, engaging, this time with the media. It’s not for everybody. Our expectations are higher. What our players are asked to do is a lot, and I don’t apologize for it to you or to them.”
Rickie Fowler, who is close with Koepka, noted at last night’s TGL event that Koepka had been eyeing a way back to the PGA Tour for some time.
“I think it’s great,” Fowler said of Koepka’s return.”I feel like Brooks has been in a position, he’s wanted to be back playing with us for quite a while, so I’m very happy that we’re back in the position where we’re at now.”
As for the other three LIV members the PGA Tour opened a pathway for, all three said Tuesday they will remain with LIV Golf.
“I mean, look, I’m contracted through 2026, so I’m excited about this year,” DeChambeau said.
“I’m not planning on going anywhere. Very similar answer to what Bryson gave,” Rahm said. “I wish Brooks the best. As far as I’m concerned, I’m focused on the league and my team this year.”
While O’Neil said there’s “no holy war” between the two sides after Koepka’s exit, it’s clear that new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp will take a different approach than commissioner Jay Monahan. Rolapp’s interest isn’t in what happened but in what comes next and how to improve the PGA Tour product. The olive branch he extended to DeChambeau, Rahm and Smith was the first time the PGA Tour has really gone on the offensive in golf’s civil conflict. It was an attempt to weaken LIV by hitting at its core — star power. It was the first move with a new player on the board, one who isn’t bound by what happened before he arrived.
On Wednesday, O’Neil brushed off Rolapp’s opening salvo. The LIV chief projected confidence that there would be no mass exodus — that Koepka was a unique situation.
“There’s not a shadow of a doubt in my mind, hasn’t been yesterday, won’t be today, and certainly won’t be tomorrow, that the players have put their chips in and are all in, and I love that,” O’Neil said.
He pointed to DeChambeau, one of golf’s biggest needles, committing to LIV the day prior. He praised him for being a “generational” athlete and person, and for being willing to do what LIV asks of its players to grow the league. Of course, DeChambeau committed to finishing out the remainder of his initial contract and nothing more. What DeChambeau plans to do after 2026 is arguably golf’s biggest mystery. He has said he wants to re-sign with LIV, but noted that things are different following Koepka’s departure. He claims that playing all four majors and doing YouTube golf is “viable.” Everything is a negotiation tactic, and no one has ever had more leverage in golf than DeChambeau now has. Losing him, at any point, would be a massive wound that would be difficult, if not impossible, for LIV to heal.
Rahm’s contract with LIV is longer and he’d have to leave a lot of money to exit. Smith seems genuinely happy on the breakaway circuit. The PGA Tour didn’t give a pass back to Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, and others. O’Neil said he’d have offered a way back for Johnson, Mickelson, Carlos Ortiz and many others if he were the PGA Tour. The projection is that LIV is more than the three names the PGA Tour publicly put out in a statement. They are full steam ahead, gas pedal down and unconcerned about their chief rival. But the reality was clear. LIV has always been about big-name value, and the loss of any more of that would weaken it tremendously.
For the first time since the schism, it was LIV’s leaders and players who were fielding questions about whether they’d be staying. The status quo it was not. The talking points were the same, but the feeling was different. Rolapp’s first big move momentarily shifted the momentum, and it’s clear there’s a new reality with him at the helm.
One that started when he opened up the door for Koepka, LIV’s first defector, to walk back to the PGA Tour, opening up the possibility for LIV to lose even more in the future.
“I think I’d have done the same thing, if it’s any consolation,” O’Neil said.
