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mark schlabach
Five-time major champion brooks koepka is returning to the PGA Tour as part of a new returning member program that will also allow LIV Golf’s three other top stars to return if they wish.
In a memo sent to PGA Tour members on Monday, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN, the Tour said Koepka is expected to return at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California, between Jan. 29-Feb. 1. He is also expected to play in the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale next week.
“Since I was a kid, I’ve always dreamed of competing on the PGA Tour, and I’m very excited to announce today that I’m returning to the PGA Tour,” Koepka said in a statement. Posted on x On Monday. “Being closer to home and spending more time with my family makes this opportunity especially meaningful to me. I believe the PGA Tour is moving forward with new leadership, new investors and an equity program that gives players a meaningful ownership stake.”
The Returning Member Program allows LIV golfers who have been away from the PGA Tour for at least two years – and who have won The Players Championship or one of the four major championships (Masters, PGA Championship, US Open and The Open Championship) through 2022 – to return to the PGA Tour under certain conditions and with no severe financial penalties.
Other LIV golf competitors who are eligible to return under the program are the 2024 US Open winners Bryson DeChambeau2023 masters champion john rahm and 2022 Players Championship and Open Championship winners cameron smith.
The window for LIV golfers to apply for reinstatement under the program opens on Monday and closes on Feb. 2, PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp’s memo to PGA Tour members said. Golfers who wish to rejoin the PGA Tour must commit to playing in a minimum of 15 co-sponsored or sanctioned events during the 2026 season.
“This is a one-time, defined window and is not a precedent for future situations,” Rolapp wrote. “Once the door is closed, there is no promise that this path will be available again.”
PGA Tour Board of Directors Tiger Woods, patrick cantlay, adam scott And others voted Thursday to approve the Returning Member Program, sources told ESPN. Koepka applied for reinstatement on FridayAnd that same day, he had a face-to-face meeting with Rolapp at PGA Tour headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, sources said.
The Player Advisory Council meets Monday at 1 p.m. ET.
According to the memorandum, under the terms of Koepka’s withdrawal, he agreed to forfeit any player equity shares for the next five years and will not be eligible for the $100 million FedEx Cup bonus program in 2026.
Koepka, at the request of the PGA Tour, also agreed to donate $5 million to charity.
“Forfeiting five years of potential equity in our Player Equity Program represents one of the largest financial consequences in professional sports history – we estimate that Brooks could miss out on approximately $50. [million]- Potential earnings of $85 million based on his competitive performance and tour growth,” Rolapp wrote in the memo.
In his statement, Koepka said he understood the financial penalties associated with his decision, “and I accept them.” He also told the Associated Press that he “There’s a lot of work to do” To rebuild his relationships with players on the PGA Tour.
In a memo to PGA Tour golfers, Rolapp said the program “ensures that only those who have recently made the highest achievements in the game are eligible to return to the PGA Tour, where the world’s best players compete week after week.”
Koepka, 35, last played on the PGA Tour when he tied for 12th at the Valspar Championship on March 22, 2022. A nine-time winner on Tour, he can compete in each of the four majors this season because of a five-year exemption from winning the 2023 PGA Championship.
In the memo, the PGA Tour said Koepka is eligible for The Players Championship and other full-field events, but he must earn his way into one of the eight Signature Events by winning a tournament this season or qualifying through one of three routes: the Aon Next 10 (the top 10 golfers in FedEx Cup points will not receive an exemption for the Signature Event through the tournament); Aon Swing 5 (point earners among the top five Signature Events in the FedEx Cup who are not otherwise exempt); or the top 30 in the Official World Golf Ranking who are not otherwise eligible.
Koepka is ranked 244th in the OWGR because he did not receive world-ranking points for his LIV golf finishes. He is not eligible for one of the four sponsor exemptions at any signed event this season.
The PGA Tour will expand fields at signature events, full-field tournaments and the Players Championship to accommodate golfers returning under the Returning Member Program.
A returning member will be eligible to compete in the FedEx Cup Playoffs if he or she qualifies through points, but will be added to the field and will not affect the eligibility of any other golfer. He will also be eligible to compete in the Presidents Cup.
“To ensure fairness to our current members, the Returning Member Program will not take away playing opportunities from our current members – areas will be expanded as needed,” Rolapp wrote in the memo.
Koepka was the first five-time winner of LIV Golf, but he struggled in majors last season, missing the cut at the Masters, PGA Championship and The Open, and finishing 12th at the US Open. He left LIV Golf League On 23 December, while he had one year left on his contract.
When Koepka was asked in April to assess LIV Golf’s fourth season, he said, “I think we all hoped it would have gone a little further, and that’s no secret.”
LIV Golf said in a statement on Monday that it had “supported an open ecosystem and freedom for all” since its founding.
“Not just something limited,” LIV Golf said in a statement. “Which supports players’ rights to compete on a variety of platforms, reinforcing the belief that sports growth is best achieved when the game’s best players are empowered to find the most competitive environments around the world.”
DeChambeau, one of the world’s most popular golfers, is believed to be in the final season of a four-year contract with LIV Golf, which is being financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Last month, DeChambeau told the “Flushing It” podcast that Koepka’s departure “brings up some unique things” in his conversation with LIV.
“And look, I mean, like I’ve always said, I want to do this, I want to grow team golf around the world,” DeChambeau said. “But it has to be right. And a lot of things have to be done to get it right, you know? Things have to change. Things have to be improved.”
While being Masters Champion Rory McIlroy And while others have supported LIV golfers returning to the PGA Tour, Koepka’s return is sure to be controversial among the Tour’s rank-and-file golfers and others.
Rolapp said the new program was “a direct response to a unique situation.”
“In evaluating the situation, our objectives were clear: (1) strengthening the PGA Tour, (2) preserving playing opportunities for current members and (3) satisfying fans’ desire to see the world’s best players return to our Tour, while ensuring that returning members will accept severe but fair financial consequences,” Rolapp wrote.
“We recognize there may be questions about how this policy holds a returning player accountable, especially after earning substantial compensation elsewhere. Ultimately, by accepting membership in the Returning Member category, Brooks is now making the decision to return to the PGA Tour – something our fans want, and something that strengthens both the game and our organization.”
