The first name that entered the program is five-time major champion Brooks Koepka. A handful of current LIV players have won majors after jumping to the Saudi-backed tour, namely Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, and John Rahm.
For the sanctions he will have to face upon returning to the PGA Tour, Koepka had better hope the money he made from LIV will stretch for a while.
The four players I mentioned are eligible to return to the PGA Tour as part of the program…for now. PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp indicated the deadline for the remaining players to enter the program is February 2, and this offer may not become available again to any future LIV players looking to jump ship.
Some of the criteria Koepka will have to endure as part of the program include:
- Committing to play in at least 15 co-sponsored or approved events during the 2026 season;
- A $5 million donation to charity;
- Forfeiting any PGA player equity shares for the next five seasons;
- Ineligibility for the $100 FedEx Cup bonus program
Boy I sure hope all that Saudi money paid well, because outside of endorsements, it will be the last earnings check for golf Koepka will earn until 2031. Koepka would be fully reinstated to participate in major championship tournaments, having won the US Open twice, and the PGA Championship three times, most recently in 2023 after defecting to LIV the previous season. The 35-year-old has also finished runner-up twice at Augusta, where he will be seeking to dethrone Rory McIlroy in April at The Masters. Remember that McIlroy is the most outspoken detractor of LIV Golf by any player still on the PGA Tour, with multiple press conferences and interviews in recent years slamming the tour and its players that were poached from the PGA.
Koepka only made the cut in a major in 2025 at The Open Championship, where he finished tied for 12th. He also finished outside the top 20 in all four majors in 2024.
LIV Golf is not part of the Official World Golf Rankings, and there are no plans to do so at the present. Since LIV only plays three rounds in their tournaments, and often use a team format, there is no way to adjust scoring accurately to reflect in the rankings. This means that Koepka enters his first event of the season at the Farmers Insurance Open on January 29 ranked 244th in the world. If Koepka plays well enough to work his way into the FedEx Cup playoffs, the PGA Tour will make adjustments so that a current player would not be left on the outside for eligibility requirements, as another part of the program.
The uniqueness of former major winners being given the option of returning is not lost on anyone within the sport. We know The Masters are less than 90 days away, and one of the most entertaining events of the entire season is the Waste Management (WM) Phoenix Open begins on February 2, the same day the window closes for DeChambeau, Rahm, and Smith. Phoenix is always the largest party of the entire PGA season, and having Koepka and DeChambeau back in the fold would be highly entertaining for the fans in attendance. However, there may be some level of disconnect, and you may need to factor in gentlemanly hazing. Friends can be friends, but a lot of that can be thrown out the window when PGA players take a huge payday to jump to LIV, only to want to come back a few years later.
Koepka still had a year left on his contract with LIV Golf when he announced his intentions to return to the PGA Tour on December 23. For some of the other players without major championships, would they be eligible for a “second-tier” type readmission to the PGA Tour if they decided to defect from LIV? Would they be required to go through the Korn Ferry Tour for a year with similar-level forfeitures as the Returning Members Program?
There are only 12 sites on the 2026 LIV Golf schedule. Having Koepka play in at least 15 for a much smaller payout is not a very good sign for LIV. The long-proposed merger between the two tours has been in discussion for over 18 months. Now both sides seem as far apart as ever, as they should be. This would be the same as the NFL looking to partner up with the CFL…two different leagues with entirely different sets of gameplay rules. When Tiger Woods turned down a reported $700-800 million dollars to join LIV, that right there tells you that the novelty of the relaxed LIV atmosphere is as much a fad as Woods’ TGL (“The Golf League”) virtual golf.
The difference is that TGL is entertainment backed by millionaires looking for a way to make golf a year-round event for everyone. LIV is a cash grab by the least humanitarian group of people on the planet, and that includes the wannabe United States dictator. Remember that one of the annual stops on the LIV schedule is on one of his personal courses, so naturally he is in bed with the Saudis.
LIV’s largest TV ratings draw was a reported 484,000 for Miami in 2025, a fraction of the viewership the PGA touts every week through CBS and ESPN. The league would have a better chance of survival taking from international markets, but there will always be the little brother trying to latch on to the popularity of big brother PGA in the United States…just with a better payout to an elite few.
Now Brooks Koepka--and up to three of his brethren--get to be treated like children when/if they come crawling back in.
-JC24