First start already at Farmers, Vijay Singh eager for more, Charley Hull soon on YouTube. The Back Nine.
As expected, five-time major winner Brooks Koepka has withdrawn from the 2026 LIV Golf season, which begins on February 7 in Riyadh; he will remain connected to the rival circuit but needs more time for his family. According to LIV CEO Scott McNeil, this was a friendly agreement. Yet Koepka is a competitive type who only really fires up during top-level competition, something he only partially found at LIV. In 2022, he mainly joined LIV Golf because of injury concerns threatening to end his career, aiming to secure a substantial retirement fund. Given that, his decision to skip the final contracted season is unsurprising, though questions remain about potential buyouts or partial repayments. Koepka, 35, still owns the LIV team Smash GC, which has appointed Talor Gooch as its new captain.
Speculation abounds about where Koepka will compete next. The DP World Tour would immediately grant him playing rights, possibly upon a penalty fee. Or he could return to the PGA Tour, currently serving a one-year suspension since his last LIV appearance, after lifetime bans by former Commissioner Jay Monahan were softened. With every prominent LIV returnee strengthening the PGA Tour, why remain vindictive? ESPN journalist Mark Schlabach reports that last Friday Koepka formally applied to reactivate his PGA Tour membership, which had lapsed post-2022, to rejoin the players’ roster.
Update: \”And perhaps the five-time major winner will get some leniency in Ponte Vedra Beach\” – exactly that happened. News quickly spread that Koepka is immediately eligible to compete on the PGA Tour and will start at the Farmers Insurance Open late January in Torrey Pines. His participation in the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale, Arizona, is also confirmed. This became possible due to a new \”Returning Member Program,\” allowing selected LIV players to rejoin the PGA Tour without suspension.
A possible suspension would have ended in August. That coincides with the conclusion of the 2026 season at the Tour Championship, August 27–30. Koepka would be eligible for 2027, when the PGA Tour plans to compress nearly two dozen $20-million tournaments with the strongest, limited player fields — the perfect comeback time, fitting Koepka’s tastes. The PGA Tour Enterprises investors, likely leading 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,\” Jon Rahm recently said on the \”Subpar\” podcast. \”He’ll probably play at least the minimum, and why not the events he likes, the big ones. If he then qualifies or gets invites to top tournaments, he’ll play those too.\” Perhaps some leniency will be granted for a five-time major champ in Ponte Vedra Beach — decisions about suspensions involve the board, player directors, and the competition committee led by Tiger Woods, who, like Rory McIlroy, supports Koepka’s immediate return. A majority of fans agree, as shown by a non-representative poll by \