At some point in the past three years, when Brooks Koepka realized that his physical prime was being squandered on a tour of blows and laughs favored only by an army of internet trolls and bots, it must have pained Brooks Koepka that golf’s most authentic athlete was being reduced to a “what if.”
At just 35 years old, it was clear to anyone paying attention that he had long considered the jump to LIV Golf a mistake — not for moral reasons, but for typical Koepka reasons. As Scottie Scheffler rose to become an all-time great, Rory McIlroy won a career Grand Slam, and the PGA Tour effectively won the golf war, the five-time major champion faced a case of FOMO that no amount of Saudi dollars in his bank account could cure.
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Koepka and LIV announced Tuesday that he would be withdrawing from the tour. It took just a few minutes for the PGA Tour to release its own take on Koepka’s latest career development, summed up in a statement calling it an opportunity to “spend more time at home.”
“Brooks Koepka is a highly accomplished professional and we wish him and his family every success in the future. The PGA Tour continues to provide the best professional golfers with the most competitive, challenging and lucrative environment in their pursuit of greatness.”
Translation: Game, set, welcome back.
However, there is one caveat. If the contractual tea leaves are interpreted correctly, Koepka will not be eligible to return to the PGA Tour until late August, one year after his last tournament at LIV. He will be granted exemptions to all four majors and eligibility for the DP World Tour, but will likely not be able to become a full member of the PGA Tour again until the 2027 season.
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It can’t come any faster.
The golf world was divided when Koepka left the PGA Tour for LIV in 2022 in a deal worth more than $100 million, along with Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau, according to multiple reports.
For a while after its launch, LIV seemed like an unstoppable force backed by unlimited funds. The PGA Tour has been reeling from not producing as many stars as sponsors and fans had hoped for on a regular basis, and has been busy reshaping its prize structure to prevent more players from jumping ship.
However, over time, LIV ran into one major problem. That’s something no one cared about.
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Sure, there were underserved golf markets, too, like Australia, where LIV held tournaments that looked like big Gen Z-esque parties with thousands of fans and dance music blaring in the background.
But the reality is that LIV hasn’t caught on as a TV product, and too many players who have taken their deposits have seen the game languish in a barely competitive environment.
Yes, Koepka won the 2023 PGA Championship and DeChambeau became a regular in the majors. But Johnson hasn’t been a proper golfer in recent years, Rahm hasn’t been as sharp under pressure, and Cam Smith’s game appears to be declining. Mito Pereira, who would have won the 2022 PGA Championship if he hadn’t hit the creek on the 72nd hole, announced his retirement this week at the age of 30 after his health deteriorated since he started attending LIV.
Since winning the PGA in 2023? Koepka hasn’t finished in the top 10 in the last 10 tournaments and missed out on three of them last year.
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For someone who had built his game and reputation by appearing at the biggest events, it was never sustainable.
The seeds for Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour were planted long before Tuesday. After finishing tied for second at the 2023 Masters, Koepka was asked about not being able to compete week in and week out with the likes of McIlroy and Scheffler.
“That’s one of the things I’ll miss,” he said. “That’s the appeal of the majors.”
He continued, “That’s the current situation. We can’t do anything because of the current situation. We’re just going to have fun.”
I am not a strong supporter of what the LIV Saudi monarchs put together.
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The scene depicting Koepka’s departure in LIV was interesting. A “thank you” graphic on social media was combined with a press release on the website with the headline, “Statement on Tarah Gooch becoming Smash GC captain.”
This is nothing but an acknowledgment that LIV’s raison d’être as a full-fledged golf organization has come to an end. With many good years to come and long-term ambitions to win a major title, it is only a matter of time before players fulfill their contracts and eventually return to the best and most competitive tour in the world.
When this all ended three and a half years ago, Koepka was in a different place. He was plagued by injuries and his career was on the decline. If you watched the Netflix documentary series “Full Swing,” you know he was genuinely worried that his best days were behind him.
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So he took the money. It seemed right at the time.
But Koepka is a special player, the best of all time. Because he is a rare golfer who improves his game when times are difficult. He has the strut of an elite athlete, motivated by the big prize money and head-to-head competition with the players he respects most.
He quickly discovered that LIV was not the place for that to happen, and his eventual return to the PGA Tour brings fans one step closer to a world where the best players compete week in and week out.
In the meantime, despite all the doom and gloom when LIV begins in 2022, the PGA Tour has survived, evolved, and ultimately thrived. With Scheffler and McIlroy remaining faithful and other young stars moving up the ranks, it’s proven that you don’t need Koepka or DeChambeau or Rahm to provide a good product.
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But Koepka’s presence alone will make the PGA Tour even more appealing the moment he qualifies. If there’s anything left of Koepka, the man who once appeared at every major tournament as the most feared competitor on the planet, it won’t come soon enough.
Welcome back, Brooks.
