Brooks Koepka made the decision to leave LIV Golf in December and returned to the PGA Tour just a few weeks later.
Now, Ian Poulter has delivered his verdict on what he calls a “hostile” reinstatement program created by the PGA Tour to facilitate Koepka’s reinstatement.
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Koepka had to pay a $5 million fee to charity and was ineligible to play in any signature event as part of the deal allowing him to return to the PGA Tour.
The PGA Tour has made “one-time” offers not only to Brooks Koepka, but also to Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith.
Photo credit: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
However, the five-time major champion was the only one who accepted their offer, leaving the other three players as LIV Golf players.
Many, including the legendary Tom Watson, believe Koepka should never have been allowed to return to the PGA Tour in the first place.
Now Ian Poulter has his sights set on a PGA Tour offer.
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Ian Poulter announces Brooks Koepka’s return to PGA Tour
Poulter appeared on the Rough Cut Golf Podcast and spoke about the current rift between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
When asked for his thoughts on the PGA Tour’s Returning Member Program, which enabled Koepka’s membership to be reinstated, he replied:
“There is a crucial issue between the PGA Tour and LIV.“ Poulter insisted.
“What did they actually carve out? They gave chances to 4 players and only 4 players. It’s not really open.
“For those on the outside, honestly, what would happen if we only focused on players with championship experience, such as Brooks, who won five majors, and Cam Smith, who won The Players and British Open? You brought back Bryson DeChambeau and gave Jon Rahm a chance. So does everyone else, right?
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“All we want is the biggest four assets we can nick back from LIV, none of you. how does it look? I don’t think that’s very good. I think it’s a mercenary way to flip it around and say we’re just going to skim off some of your assets or try to skim them back. Therefore, there is still a fight.
Photo by Charles Laberge/LIV Golf, Getty Images
“In my opinion, that’s a hostile offer. We’re not going to be fully open, so let the guys come back and play.
“This is where we work on ways to keep you coming back to benefit. Now, the PGA Tour has a complete profit business, and depending on who you are, there are share options for members who are assigned stock positions of a certain value.
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“So for any player, if two or three players come back, even if some players say they don’t want to come back, their share option becomes more valuable. So they’re doing it for their own pockets. It’s not clean enough.“
Ian Poulter’s comments about the PGA Tour were naive
While Poulter’s position is understandable, it is not a realistic view of the entire situation.
Why would the PGA Tour want to bring back a player with no star value?
It makes no sense at all for them to make a general offer to all golfers at LIV.
Koepka, DeChambeau and Rahm would all be valuable additions to the PGA Tour, and Smith likely would be as well.
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These are names that will undoubtedly generate additional revenue for the PGA Tour, for example by acquiring additional sponsorship deals.
Koepka, DeChambeau, and Rahm have earned their place in the game with their recent success. It will be very interesting to see what decisions the latter two players make as the future of LIV Golf becomes increasingly uncertain.
