Chris Cwik, Contributing writer
Brooks Koepka is officially back on the PGA Tour. The 35-year-old golfer announced the news Monday, just as the Tour unveiled a new initiative aimed at getting other LIV golfers — three specifically — to return to the Tour.
Koepka announced his decision on social media, saying it was always a dream to play on the PGA Tour. He added that new leadership drew him back to the program, though the decision will come with financial penalties. He also thanked the fans for supporting him.
“When I was a child, I always dreamed about competing on the PGA Tour, and I am just as excited today to announce that I am returning to the PGA Tour,” Koepka wrote, in part. “Being closer to home and spending more time with my family makes this opportunity especially meaningful to me.
“I believe in where the PGA TOUR is headed with new leadership, new investors, and an equity program that gives players a meaningful ownership stake. I also understand there are financial penalties associated with this decision, and I accept those.”
Koepka ended his statement by saying he would see the fans soon, when he takes part in the Farmers Insurance Open (Jan. 29-Feb. 1) and WM Phoenix Open (Feb. 5-8).
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Koepka originally left the PGA Tour in 2022 in favor of joining LIV Golf. At the time, Koepka joined a number of other big-name golfers, including Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau and Sergio Garcia, among others, to join LIV Golf, which is funded by Saudi Arabia. The organization faced criticism for engaging in sportswashing, a process in which a government uses sports as a way to improve its reputation after being involved in a possible scandal or human-rights violation.
Many golfers who left the PGA Tour at the time did so for monetary reasons, as LIV Golf offered extremely lucrative deals to golfers as a way to legitimize itself and compete with the PGA Tour. A number of golfers took that bait and joined the new organization.
Koepka, however, made waves in December, announcing a split with LIV Golf. At the time, many wondered whether Koepka would apply for reinstatement to the PGA Tour, and how the tour would handle that situation. To that point, the Tour had indicated a path back to the PGA would require sitting a year.
In early January, Koepka reportedly applied for reinstatement to the PGA Tour. As Monday’s news confirmed, those reports were accurate, and it didn’t take long for the PGA Tour to come up with a solution for three other golfers — and only three — who wanted to return.
PGA Tour unveils “Returning Members Program”
Koepka’s reinstatement comes on the same day the PGA Tour announced an initiative called the “Returning Members Program.” The program opens the door for golfers who “have achieved elite performance-based criteria” to return to the PGA Tour after leaving for LIV Golf.
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The PGA Tour’s statement did not specifically mention LIV Golf, merely referring to players who want to return from “elsewhere.”
For now, the program only allows golfers who won either The Players Championship, Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open or British Open Championship between 2022 and 2025 to apply for reinstatement. The PGA Tour explained its rationale by claiming this will allow only the most elite talent to return to the organization
That particular criteria only applies to Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cam Smith. DeChambeau, Rahm and Smith have until Feb. 2 to reapply to the PGA Tour. At that point, the organization said this “one-time, defined window” will close, and “there is no promise that this path will be open again.”
Notably, the PGA Tour’s criteria for reinstatement would not apply to Mickelson, who won the PGA Championship in 2
Any golfer who applies to the PGA Tour’s “Returning Members Program” will be subject to financial penalties.
As the PGA Tour laid out in its statement, golfers who want to return will be subject to “heavy and appropriate limitations to both tournament access and potential earnings that we believe properly holds returning members accountable for substantial compensation earned elsewhere.”
The PGA Tour then outlined how that rule will impact Koepka upon his return.
“It’s strict limitations, which Brooks has agreed to, include a five-year forfeiture of potential equity in the PGA Tour’s player equity program, representing one of the largest financial repercussions in professional sports history, with estimations that he could miss out on approximately $50-85 million in potential earnings, depending on his competitive performance and the growth of the Tour. At the request of the PGA Tour, Brooks has also agreed to make a $5 million charitable contribution, the recipient(s) of which will be determined jointly.”
DeChambeau, Rahm and Smith could face the same — or at least similar — penalties should they choose to apply for reinstatement to the PGA Tour.
The organization noted that the “Returning Members Program” will not take away playing opportunities from current players, and that fields will be expanded if necessary so certain players won’t get squeezed out if golfers return to the PGA Tour.
