Brooks Koepka will return to PGA Tour action at the Farmers Insurance Open later this month.
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Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we break down Brooks Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour, how the Tour made it happen and how LIV might respond.
Major news shook the golf world on Monday, when the PGA Tour announced a new “Returning Member Program” that would allow a select number of players who fell under a certain criteria to rejoin the Tour with some penalties and conditions, and that Brooks Koepka had already accepted. What do you believe ultimately led to Koepka’s return?
Josh Berhow, managing editor (@Josh_Berhow): I don’t think he was ever truly happy at LIV, or at least it wasn’t long before he realized he wasn’t. Sure the money was good but we know Koepka thrives on competition and it simply wasn’t as good or meaningful on LIV. That’s why he’s been so good in the majors, and I think that was hard on him. Plus, while the LIV schedule isn’t as frequent as the PGA Tour, it’s more international travel, which can also be taxing and tough on a guy with a young family. You also have to wonder, with Scottie Scheffler winning 13 times over the last two years, if that motivated him at all. He wants to be measured against the best and no one is better than Scottie right now.
Josh Sens, senior writer (@joshsens): Before he moved to LIV, Koepka made it clear he wasn’t all that interested in regular Tour events. They didn’t fire him up. Ironically, he then jumped to a circuit where every event must have felt like that to him. Clearly he wanted to be back in a more competitive mix.
Josh Schrock, news editor (@Schrock_and_awe): Brooks admitted he initially went to LIV because of the uncertainty surrounding his health. He never bought into being a “LIV guy” in the way that Bryson DeChambeau has. He took the money but didn’t do so as some great soldier in pro golf’s civil war. He soured on the idea pretty quickly and once he won the 2023 PGA it seemed like he truly regretted the initial decision. Think Berhow makes a good point about Scheffler’s dominance. You add in Rory McIlroy winning the career Grand Slam and it’s clear that Koepka wanted to come back to compete against the best and feel better prepared to reassert himself as a force at major championships.
After winning the 2023 PGA Championship, Koepka has failed to finish in the top 10 in his last 10 major starts, which includes missing three of four cuts last year. Now back on the PGA Tour, do you expect Koepka to return to his former world-beating self?
Berhow: I wouldn’t be surprised to see him bounce back a little. I don’t expect another year that includes three missed cuts but I do think he will find a little better form now that he’s in a better spot personally and playing more regularly. But don’t discount motivation. He knows eyeballs will be on him now and would love to prove to people he hasn’t lost a step.
Sens: I do. Few players are better with a chip on their shoulder. I think he’ll thrive off feeling like he needs to prove himself all over again. He will have to stay healthy, of course.
Schrock: Yes. I think preparing for the Masters in Houston or San Antonio and not having to fly to Singapore and South Africa before Augusta should make him sharper and more rested for the big weeks. After a few years of subpar major showings, I expect Koepka to be motivated to silence his “doubters” again.
Three other LIV players — Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith — also have the option to return, although they must decide by Feb. 2. In press conferences last week they said they were staying loyal to LIV, although there’s still time to flip. Do you think any will?
Berhow: I don’t think we will see it, although it’s not a complete zero chance. I can’t see Cam Smith flipping. Bryson has one year left and while his press conference tone was, ahem, interesting, he might play it out and see where he is a year from now. This also gives him a ton of leverage. If there’s anyone who I think could flip, it might be Rahm. He said he wasn’t interested a few days ago but he’s still got two weeks to think about it. And time is a dangerous thing for the mind.
Sens: Agreed, Josh. Rahm would be the guy. And as we’ve seen more than once in the LIV era, what players say they’re going to do isn’t always what they end up doing.
Schrock: Rahm is the one who all eyes should be on, but we don’t know what his contract looks like and the potential penalty he’d face for trying to bolt. I think he’ll come back but it won’t be by Feb. 2.
The fine print of this rule said only winners of the Players or majors since 2022 would be allowed to return, which notably left out other major winners like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Sergio Garcia, including non-major winners but big names such as Tyrrell Hatton and Joaquin Niemann. Why was it so specific when it could have been tweaked to allow more?
Berhow: The Tour knows it’s product is driven by stars and these are the guys — especially Koepka, Rahm and DeChambeau — who can really make a difference. Plus, with everything that’s happened between the Tour and Mickelson, this seemed like a not-so-subtle way to thumb their nose at him. If the big names leave LIV, that damages it much more than a handful of top-50 guys. You could even make the case that making this group so small puts more pressure on them to make a decision, as they wouldn’t want to be the marquee name left behind.
Sens: The Tour-LIV battle has always been for the big names. This was clearly a play for the guys with the most wattage. That it was also structured in a way that explicitly left out Mickelson must have been a particularly gratifying bonus to the folks in Ponte Vedra.
Schrock: Brian Rolapp correctly identified the players who have legitimate value to the PGA Tour. That’s Bryson, Rahm and Brooks. Cam Smith fits into the category they created to shoehorn in the other three. Rolapp is trying to walk a tightrope in bringing back players who improve the PGA Tour’s product without upsetting his current membership. We saw Wyndham Clark say he was “very torn” that Koepka was allowed back with what he deemed a light penalty. But I think players can understand that there are different rules for players who have achieved a certain level of success in the game. It’s a lot harder to sell some of the rank and file on opening the doors for LIV’s non-elite players than it is for Koepka, Rahm and DeChambeau.
In his short time as PGA Tour CEO, Brian Rolapp has already made a major impact. Are you surprised how fast he’s acted? And if you are a rank-and-file PGA Tour player, are you happy, annoyed or indifferent at this move?
Berhow: This is the perfect example of why it was probably beneficial to bring in someone from outside the sport (like Rolapp, from the NFL) who made it simple and said we need to find a way to get our best players back. I can’t imagine this move being made a year or two ago, when it seemed like the sentiment was more, “we don’t need you.” As for fellow Tour players, I’m sure it’s a mixed reaction, but they won’t get bumped out of events and that’s probably all they care about. The ones who might have more reason to be angry are those who were offered lucrative LIV contracts, turned them down and now realize they could have done both.
Sens: Rolapp promised from Day 1 he was going to shake things up. Not surprising that he made good on his word. It was also easier to make a play like this because the climate around the civil war has changed so dramatically. Long gone are the cries of ethical outrage over LIV and the source of its money. It’s now all about winning the fight, not maintaining the moral high ground.
Schrock: Not surprised at all. Rolapp is an NFL guy. He carries none of the baggage that Jay Monahan and the rest of the old PGA Tour leadership do with LIV. He wants to improve the PGA Tour and make everyone more money. That’s how the NFL operates and that’s how he will run the PGA Tour. If I’m a player who’s in the middle and didn’t turn down a big offer from LIV to jump, then I’m not concerned by this move. It makes the Tour better and Koepka isn’t taking anyone’s spot and isn’t eligible for sponsor invites into the Signature Events.
Was Monday’s news bigger for the PGA Tour or worse for LIV Golf? And what does LIV Golf do now, especially if more players flip?
Berhow: Worse for LIV. It hurt the Tour when Rahm left a couple of years ago, but LIV never made a splashy signing since. Now they are losing one of their few key guys, and if even one more of the three flip in the next two weeks, it would be disastrous. As for what LIV does now? They moved to 72 holes and reapplied for World Ranking points, which they need more than ever. A few more stars wouldn’t hurt either, but at this point it almost seems like allegiances have been made for so many.
Sens: Worse for LIV. The league wants to be seen as more than a well-funded novelty act. It wants to be seen as competitively relevant. It needs to attract big names, not lose them.
Schrock: It’s worse for LIV. The offseason has seen them reportedly fail to land the likes of Akshay Bhatia and Si Woo Kim, and now they’ve watched one of their big names walk back across the battlefield to the PGA Tour. If they lose Rahm or Bryson, that will probably end golf’s civil conflict. They will limp forward and keep going because they have bottomless funds and have gained some popularity in markets like Australia, but with a roster of aging former stars and young could-bees, their dream of overtaking the PGA Tour will be buried even deeper than it is now.
