Less than a month after leaving LIV Golf after four years in the league, Brooks Koepka returned to the PGA Tour to play in the 2026 tournament. Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour is now official under the new Returning Member Program, which was approved by the PGA Tour Board of Directors and officially launched on Monday.
The five-time major champion is scheduled to start his season at the Farmers Insurance Open on January 29th, and will play at the WM Phoenix Open the following week.
“As a kid, I dreamed of competing on the PGA Tour, and today I’m just as excited to announce my return to the PGA Tour. This opportunity is especially meaningful to me because it allows me to be closer to home and spend more time with my family,” Koepka said in a statement. “I believe in where the PGA Tour is headed with new leadership, new investors and an equity program that provides meaningful ownership for our players. I also understand and accept the financial penalties associated with this decision.”
Under the Returning Member Program, players who are considered elite due to their performance can take an alternate path back to the PGA Tour rather than face a suspension. Golfers who win The Players Championship, Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, or The Open Championship during the 2022-25 season will be eligible to return to the PGA Tour under this program if there are no longer any contractual restrictions that prevent them from complying with PGA Tour rules and regulations.
This program was created in response to the unique situation in which Koepka left LIV Golf on December 23, 2025 and officially requested reinstatement. This is not an indication of what decisions the PGA Tour will make in the future if additional players wish to return.
As a condition of reinstatement under this program, returning members will no longer be eligible to receive payments from the Player Equity Program for five years (2026-2030) and will no longer receive payments from the FedEx Cup Bonus Program for the 2026 season.
The PGA Tour estimates Koepka will miss out on potential earnings of between $50 million and $85 million. It also plans to make a $5 million charitable donation at the request of the PGA Tour. In a letter to members, the PGA Tour called the potential loss of revenue “one of the largest economic impacts in the history of professional sports.” He also said the field would be expanded to Koepka so that no one is denied the opportunity to play.
To qualify for the signature event, returning members must compete in a qualifying method such as Aon Next 10, Aon Swing 5, etc. and either win that year’s tournament or finish within the top 30 in the Official World Golf Rankings. Returning members are not eligible for sponsorship exemptions for signature events.
CBS Sports has revealed that the PGA Tour has determined that the creation of a Returning Membership Program is a necessary step to ensure that the sport’s elite players can compete without delay, while also ensuring a level of compensation that creates fairness for members who have never left the organization.
Players who meet elite criteria will have until February 2nd to apply for reinstatement.
Based on the aforementioned criteria, the only other golfers eligible to return are Bryson DeChambeau (2024 U.S. Open champion), Jon Rahm (2023 Masters champion), and Cameron Smith (2022 The Open and The Players champion).
PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolup addressed the decision in an open letter to fans, saying his primary focus is to create the best, most competitive version of the tour possible.
“We continue to aggressively pursue anything that improves the fan experience and makes the PGA Tour stronger,” he wrote. “This is part of our commitment to our fans who expect to see the world’s best players compete on the PGA Tour every week.”
