First start already at the Farmers, Vijay Singh wants to give it another shot, Charley Hull soon on YouTube. The Back Nine.
As expected, Brooks Koepka has withdrawn from the 2026 LIV Golf season starting February 7 in Riyadh; the five-time major winner will remain connected to the competing circuit but needs more time for family. This was a friendly agreement, according to LIV CEO Scott McNeil’s official statement. Koepka is a competitor who gets motivated and fired up only during top-level sporting contests, something he lacked at LIV. He joined LIV in 2022 mainly because he feared his career was ending due to injury and wanted a solid retirement fund. Thus, skipping the final contractual season is not surprising, though questions remain about potential buyouts or paybacks. He remains the owner of the LIV team Smash GC, now captained by Talor Gooch.
Speculation is rising about where Koepka will play next—DP World Tour, where he’d be immediately eligible, possibly with penalty? Or PGA Tour, where he faces a one-year suspension since his last LIV appearance; previous lifetime bans by former Commissioner Jay Monahan were significantly softened. It makes little sense to be vindictive when every returning LIV player benefits the established tour. This significant question seems partially answered: ESPN’s Mark Schlabach reported Koepka formally applied last Friday to reactivate his PGA Tour membership, which was not renewed after 2022.
A potential suspension would expire in August, coinciding with the end of the 2026 season with the Tour Championship from August 27-30. Koepka would be eligible to play in 2027 under PGA Tour’s new streamlined schedule of about two dozen $20 million tournaments with limited, top-tier fields—ideal timing for a comeback. Investors at PGA Tour Enterprises, likely sponsorship holders of the top league, would welcome another major 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 tournaments he likes, the big ones? If he qualifies for high-profile events, he’ll play those too.\” Perhaps the PGA Tour will show leniency for the five-time major champion, influenced by player directors and Tiger Woods-led competition committee, following Rory McIlroy’s recommendation to allow Koepka back.
Update: It has happened. On Monday evening local time, news spread rapidly that Koepka is immediately eligible for 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 in TPC Scottsdale, Arizona is also confirmed.
The \”Returning Member Program,\” a