Brooks Koepka return puts PGA Tour and LIV Golf back on collision course
Brooks Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour shows that it and LIV Golf are back to being rivals again, says former European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley.
The PGA Tour this week confirmed it had accepted Koepka’s application to rejoin the circuit and opened the door for other high-profile LIV Golf defectors Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith to follow suit.
The move has been seen as a shot across the bows of the disruptor tour following a long-standing truce and discussions over a merger, and McGinley believes that the two parties are back to being adversaries rather than allies.
“I don’t see the Brooks Koepka situation as surprising as many do,” the Irishman wrote on social media.
“It highlights how much pro golf is now prioritized as a business and a platform for members second.
“It also confirms that the relationship between the PGA Tour and LIV is on a path of competition, not alignment.”
Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour follows months of speculation that he would seek an early exit from his LIV Golf contract. The five-time Major winner has agreed to forego benefits worth an eight-figure sum and donated $5m to charity as part of the pact.
Koepka move another blow to PGA-LIV peace
LIV Golf, backed by $2bn from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and fronted by the combative Greg Norman, caused huge disruption in the sport when it began poaching top talent from the PGA Tour in 2022.
Following its launch and amid a blizzard of lawsuits, it agreed a peace deal with the PGA Tour in summer 2023 that would see the two circuits pool their commercial assets and PIF invest in a new joint venture at which it would have a seat at the table.
That framework agreement succeeded in halting costly legal action but, despite Donald Trump’s promise that he would bring it to a swift resolution if re-elected, has continued to stall amid antitrust concerns.
During that time the PGA Tour has undergone significant reform, ditching its charitable status to attract capital from outside investors for the first time and agreeing to share more money and power with players, while LIV Golf has struggled to build on its initial foothold.
Last month LIV Golf chief executive Scott O’Neil made an unflattering comparison between his organisation and the PGA Tour, which he likened to Formula 1 and Indycar respectively.
Koepka’s return comes under the PGA Tour’s new Returning Member Programme, which offers DeChambeau, Rahm and Smith a route back on similar terms if they agree to return by a deadline of 2 February – two days before LIV Golf’s season opener in Riyadh.