First start already at the Farmers, Vijay Singh aims for a comeback, Charley Hull launching on YouTube soon. The Back Nine.
As expected, Brooks Koepka has officially withdrawn from the 2026 LIV Golf season starting on February 7 in Riyadh; the five-time major winner will remain connected to the competing circuit but needs more time for his family. This was reportedly a mutual and amicable agreement, according to LIV CEO Scott McNeil. Koepka, known as a competitor who thrives on high-level challenges, seemed only partially motivated in LIV Golf. He switched to the Saudi-backed tour in 2022 largely because of injury concerns threatening to end his career and to secure a solid retirement fund. Given that, his choice to waive the final contractual season is not surprising, though questions remain: did he have to buy out his contract or return part of his guaranteed fee? Does he remain an owner of his LIV team, Smash GC, now captained by Talor Gooch?
Speculation is rife on which fairways Koepka will next appear. On the DP World Tour, he would be immediately eligible to play—probably with a penalty? Or on the PGA Tour, where he is serving a one-year suspension from his last LIV appearance, after lifetime bans imposed by former commissioner Jay Monahan were significantly reduced? It makes little sense to be vindictive when any prominent LIV returnee plays into the hands of the longer-established tours that hold more influence. This key question seems partially answered: according to ESPN journalist Mark Schlabach, Koepka formally applied last Friday to reactivate his PGA Tour membership, which had not been renewed after 2022, and to be reinstated as a player.
Update: \”And maybe the PGA Tour will give a pass to a five-time major winner\”—which indeed happened. News spread rapidly in the evening that Koepka is immediately eligible to play on the PGA Tour and will tee off at the Farmers Insurance Open in late January at Torrey Pines. His participation in the WGC-Dell Technologies Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale in Arizona is also confirmed. This was enabled by a surprisingly introduced \”Returning Member Program\” allowing select LIV players to regain PGA Tour membership without suspension.
Koepka’s Return to the PGA Tour
The suspension would have expired in August, coinciding with the end of the 2026 PGA Tour season at the Tour Championship from August 27 to 30. Koepka would then be eligible for 2027 when the PGA Tour launches its compressed schedule of nearly two dozen $20 million tournaments with limited, top-tier fields—a perfect time for his return, fitting Koepka’s competitive style. Investors with PGA Tour Enterprises, expected to support the new top league, would surely welcome another marquee name.
“He might need some time, but I think he’ll return to the PGA Tour,” recently said Jon Rahm in the \”Subpar\” podcast. “He’ll probably play at least the minimum and why not the tournaments he likes, the big ones. If he qualifies or gets invites to high-profile events, he will play those too.” Also, the decision on suspensions involves the board, player directors, and the competition committee