Now that Brooks Koepka has left LIV Golf and rejoined the PGA Tour as the central figure in the creation of what is called the “Returning Member Program” announced Monday, new tour CEO Brian Rolapp has made his first major impact in the reimagination of the organization.
Bringing the best players together more often has been a foundational principle of Rolapp’s vision. Cutting through the mess created by LIV Golf and various player defections, Rolapp has allowed a five-time major champion to return immediately and opened the door for three other LIV stars – Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cam Smith – to return immediately if they so desire, provided they can get out of their LIV contracts.
This is a dynamic move and moment for the PGA Tour as it heads into its new era.
Citing a unique situation – Koepka’s decision to leave LIV and his interest in returning to the PGA Tour – Rolapp said the decision was made to create a path back, not for every player who left but for those who won major championships or the Players Championship from 2022-25.
“In evaluating the situation, our objectives were clear: (1) make the PGA Tour stronger, (2) preserve playing opportunities for current members and (3) deliver on fan desire to see the best players in the world back on our tour, while ensuring Returning Members must accept severe yet appropriate financial consequences,” Rolapp wrote in a memo to PGA Tour members.
Whether any of the three other players eligible for the new program will accept the opportunity – they have until Feb. 2 to decide – is unclear at the moment.
There are significant parameters to Koepka’s return. He will make a $5 million charitable contribution, he is ineligible for FedEx Cup bonus money in 2026 and he will not be allowed to participate in the tour’s player equity program for five years. It means Koepka will be denied the opportunity to earn potentially tens of millions of dollars over the next five years.
“I believe in where the PGA Tour is headed with new leadership, new investors, and an equity program that gives players a meaningful ownership stake. I also understand there are financial penalties associated with this decision, and I accept those,” Koepka said in a statement Monday.
Koepka is expected to play in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in two weeks and the WM Phoenix Open, where he’s won twice, in early February.
While others actively pushed the LIV doctrine, Koepka did not wear the brand ambassador role aggressively and admitted in 2023 that he might not have joined the upstart organization had he been healthier. It did not go unnoticed that Koepka never wore his LIV team gear outside the league, maintaining a personal contract with Nike instead.
Rory McIlroy, once a fierce opponent of allowing LIV players to potentially return to the PGA Tour, had endorsed Koepka’s return prior to Monday’s announcement.
“Does it make sense if Brooks wanted to play the PGA Tour again to get him back as soon as possible? Absolutely,” McIlroy recently told The Palm Beach Post.
“What Brooks has done in the game of golf, it would be good for everyone to have him back.”
McIlroy went so far as to suggest Koepka could be part of a TGL team (McIlroy is one of the founders of the indoor league) if that’s something he wants.
Billy Horschel is another player whose thinking has evolved regarding the possible return of LIV players.
“At the very beginning, I think I was on the side of there needs to be some punishment for these guys. And now I’m on the side that I think for the betterment of the game, for the quality of the PGA Tour product to continue to grow …” Horschel said recently at a TGL match.
“Selfishly, having an equity stake in the PGA Tour now, bringing Brooks back, that does add value.”
Koepka is still exempt on the PGA Tour by virtue of his 2023 PGA Championship victory at Oak Hill but he did not renew his membership before the 2022-23 season.
Though Koepka had a flat year on LIV in 2025 and he missed the cut in three major championships, he is a five-time major winner and one of the most impactful players of his generation.
The decision to create the new program wasn’t Rolapp’s alone. Following Koepka’s application for reinstatement to the tour, Rolapp had conversations with player directors on the tour’s policy board and a one-on-one discussion with Koepka.
There was approval by the player-majority policy board, an in-person meeting between Rolapp and Koepka at tour headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, a Player Advisory Council meeting and a memo to the membership announcing the move.
Quickly bringing Koepka back to the tour will likely rankle some players who believe the defectors should pay a penalty for leaving the PGA Tour, but the counterargument for strengthening the product won out. The tour’s welcome mat addresses some of those concerns by not allowing returning members to accept sponsor exemptions into signature events in 2026 and ensuring that Koepka will not be taking any spots from another member, being additive to any signature or FedEx Cup playoff fields he qualifies for and will not count against top-100 status for 2027. In some cases, players may be added from alternate lists to fields to ensure an even number of players for groupings.
“I think they’ve already paid their consequence,” McIlroy said of Koepka and other LIV stars in a recent podcast interview. “They’ve made the money, but they’ve paid their consequence in terms of the reputation and some of the things they’ve lost by going over there.
“If it made the overall tour stronger to have Bryson [DeChambeau] back and whoever else, I would be OK with it, but I recognize not everyone is in my position. It would be up to the collective group of PGA Tour members to make that decision.”
It became apparent last year that any potential working agreement between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf had become increasingly unlikely and both sides seem intent on crafting their own paths forward.
For LIV, that means trying to keep DeChambeau, Rahm and Smith or risk another body blow to its existence. The league is expanding this year to 72-hole events and lobbying – as yet unsuccessfully – to receive world ranking points. The league has been more successful outside the U.S. which may explain why the 2026 schedule to this point has just four events scheduled here this season.
For the PGA Tour, a new day is unfolding. Allowing Brooks Koepka and potentially others back pushes the momentum forward and brings Rolapp’s vision more into focus.
Top: PGA Tour returning member Brooks Koepka will tee it up at Torrey Pines and TPC Scottsdale.
Brian Lawless, PA Images via Getty Images