First start at the Farmers, Vijay Singh making a comeback, Charley Hull launching on YouTube soon. The Back Nine.
As expected, Brooks Koepka has opted out of the 2026 LIV Golf season beginning February 7 in Riyadh; the five-time major winner will remain connected to the rival circuit but needs more time for family. This was agreed upon amicably, according to LIV CEO Scott McNeil’s official statement. Koepka is a competitor who gets highly motivated and fired up only during top-level competition, which he found limited at LIV. He initially joined LIV in 2022 mainly because injuries made him doubt continuing his career and he sought a solid pension payout. Thus, skipping the last contractually obligated season is not surprising, though questions remain: Did he buy himself out or repay part of his guaranteed fee? Does the 35-year-old remain owner of LIV team Smash GC, which recently appointed Talor Gooch as new captain?
Speculation is rife about which fairways Koepka will soon appear on. On the DP World Tour, where he’d be eligible immediately—likely facing a penalty? Or on the PGA Tour, where he would have to serve a one-year suspension since his last LIV event, after former commissioner Jay Monahan’s lifetime bans were significantly softened? There is no need for vindictiveness when every LIV returnee, especially a prominent one, benefits the increasingly dominant Tour. This key question seems partly answered now. According to ESPN journalist Mark Schlabach, Koepka formally applied last Friday to reactivate his PGA Tour membership, which was not renewed after 2022, and to rejoin the playing field.
An eventual suspension would expire in August, coinciding with the end of the 2026 season at the Tour Championship from August 27 to 30. Koepka would then be eligible for 2027 under PGA Tour’s new condensed schedule of about two dozen $20 million events featuring limited, top-tier fields—the perfect time for a comeback, perfectly suited to Koepka’s style. PGA Tour Enterprises investors, likely the backers of this new top league, would certainly welcome another high-profile name.
“He might need some time, but I think he’ll return to the PGA Tour,” Jon Rahm recently said in the \”Subpar\” podcast. “He’ll probably play at least the minimum, I’d say, and why not the events he enjoys, the big ones. If he qualifies for or can enter premier tournaments, he would play those too.” Perhaps the five-time major winner will get some leniency in Ponte Vedra Beach, where the board, player directors, and the Tiger Woods-led competition committee—all having a say on suspensions—are reportedly inclined to follow Rory McIlroy’s recommendation to reinstate Koepka immediately.
Update: Exactly so. On Monday evening local time, news spread rapidly that Koepka is immediately eligible to play on the PGA Tour and will tee off at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines at the end of January. His participation at the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale in Arizona is also confirmed.
This was enabled by a newly created rule called the \”Returning Member