First start already at Farmers, Vijay Singh wants to try again, Charley Hull soon on YouTube. The Back Nine.
As expected, Brooks Koepka has withdrawn from the 2026 LIV Golf League season starting February 7 in Riyadh; the five-time major winner remains connected to the competing circuit but needs more time for family. This was a mutual agreement, according to LIV CEO Scott McNeil’s official statement. Koepka is a competitor who gets motivated and fired up primarily in top-level sports contests, something he experienced to a limited extent with LIV. He switched in 2022 mainly due to injuries threatening to end his career and to secure a substantial retirement fund. Thus, skipping the last contractual season is understandable, though questions remain. Did he buy out? Repay part of his guaranteed salary? Is he still the owner of LIV team Smash GC, which already appointed Talor Gooch as the new captain?
Speculation abounds on which fairways Koepka will appear next. The DP World Tour would allow him immediate eligibility—likely with a penalty? Or the PGA Tour, where he faces a one-year suspension since his last LIV event, after former Commissioner Jay Monahan’s lifetime bans were significantly softened? Why be vindictive when every returning LIV player, especially prominent ones, benefits the tour that holds more leverage? This key question seems partly answered. According to ESPN journalist Mark Schlabach, Koepka formally applied last Friday to reactivate his PGA Tour membership, which was not extended after 2022, and to be readmitted to the player pool.