First start already at the Farmers, Vijay Singh wants to give it another go, Charley Hull soon on YouTube. The Back Nine.
As expected, Brooks Koepka has officially withdrawn from the 2026 LIV Golf season starting February 7 in Riyadh; the five-time major winner will remain connected to the rival circuit but needs more family time. LIV CEO Scott McNeil stated this was a friendly agreement. Koepka is known as a competitive type who motivates himself and heats up only during top-level competition, something he found limited in LIV. He switched to LIV in 2022 mainly due to injury concerns ending his career and aimed to secure a comfortable retirement fund. Thus, skipping the last contractual season is unsurprising, although questions remain about any financial settlements or his ownership status of LIV’s Smash GC team, now led by Talor Gooch.
Speculation is rife about where Koepka will next play. The DP World Tour permits immediate eligibility, possibly with a penalty, or the PGA Tour where he faces a one-year suspension since his last LIV appearance, a significant reduction from the lifetime bans imposed earlier. It makes strategic sense to welcome a prominent LIV returnee to the PGA Tour, which reportedly Koepka sought by formally applying last Friday to reactivate his membership and rejoin its playing group, according to ESPN journalist Mark Schlabach.
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Koepka’s suspension would end in August, coinciding with the 2026 season finale at the Tour Championship (Aug 27-30). He’d be eligible for 2027 when the PGA Tour debuts its new condensed schedule of nearly two dozen $20 million tournaments with elite limited fields – an ideal time for his comeback, and a lucrative prospect for PGA Tour Enterprises investors backing the new premier league.
Jon Rahm recently expressed confidence on the \”Subpar\” podcast that Koepka will return to the PGA Tour, likely playing the minimum required events and focusing on his preferred majors and top tournaments. It’s possible the PGA Tour leadership, including a committee led by Tiger Woods and player directors, might overlook suspension specifics following Rory McIlroy’s endorsement for Koepka’s immediate return.
Update: It has come to pass. On Monday evening local time, news spread rapidly that Koepka regained PGA Tour eligibility effective immediately and will tee off at the late January Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, with confirmed participation at the Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Arizona. This is enabled by the \”Returning Member Program,\” a new rule enacted last Thursday allowing certain LIV players to rejoin the PGA Tour without suspension, based on significant recent achievements such as Koepka’s 2023 PGA Championship victory.
The PGA Tour’s statement clarifies this is a one-time opportunity valid through February 2, with no guarantee of future recurrence, and represents no precedent. This development could influence players like Jon Rahm, Bryson DeCh