Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka is returning to the PGA Tour as part of a new Returning Member Program, which would also allow three of LIV Golf’s other top stars to come back if they want.
In a memo sent to PGA Tour members Monday, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN, the tour said Koepka is expected to make his return in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California, Jan. 29-Feb. 1. He is also expected to play in the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale the following week.
“When I was a child, I always dreamed about competing on the PGA Tour, and I am just as excited today to announce that I am returning to the PGA Tour,” Koepka said in a statement posted to X on Monday. “Being closer to home and spending more time with my family makes this opportunity especially meaningful to me. 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.”
The Returning Member Program allows LIV golfers who have been away from the PGA Tour for at least two years — and who won the Players Championship or one of the four majors (the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and Open Championship) since 2022 — to return to the PGA Tour under certain conditions and with severe financial penalties.
The other LIV Golf competitors who are eligible to return under the program are 2024 U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau, 2023 Masters champion Jon Rahm and 2022 Players Championship and Open Championship winner Cameron Smith.
The memo to PGA Tour members from PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said the window for LIV golfers to apply for reinstatement under the program opened Monday and closes Feb. 2. Golfers who seek to rejoin the PGA Tour must commit to play in at least 15 co-sponsored or approved events during the 2026 season.
“This is a one-time, defined window and is not a precedent for future situations,” Rolapp wrote. “Once the door closes, there is no promise that this path will be available again.”
The PGA Tour’s board of directors, which includes Tiger Woods, Patrick Cantlay, Adam Scott and others, voted Thursday to approve the Returning Member Program, sources told ESPN. Koepka applied for reinstatement Friday, sources said, and he had a face-to-face meeting with Rolapp at PGA Tour headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, the same day.
A Player Advisory Council meeting took place at 1 p.m. ET Monday.
As part of Koepka’s conditions to return, according to the memo, he agreed to forfeit any player equity shares for the next five years and won’t be eligible for the $100 million FedEx Cup bonus program in 2026.
Koepka, at the PGA Tour’s request, also agreed to make a $5 million donation to charity.
“Forfeiting five years of potential equity in our Player Equity program represents one of the largest financial repercussions in professional sports history — our estimations are that Brooks could miss out on approximately $50 [million]-$85 million in potential earnings depending on his competitive performance and the growth of the tour,” Rolapp wrote in the memo.
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In his statement, Koepka said he understands the financial penalties associated with his decision, “and I accept those.”
In the memo to PGA Tour golfers, Rolapp said the program “ensures that only those who have recently achieved the highest accomplishments in the game are eligible to return to the PGA Tour, where the best players in the world compete, week in and week out.”
Koepka, 35, last competed on the PGA Tour when he tied for 12th at the Valspar Championship on March 22, 2022. A nine-time winner on tour, he can compete in each of the four majors this season because of his five-year exemption for winning the 2023 PGA Championship.
In the memo, the PGA Tour said Koepka is eligible for the Players Championship and other full-field events, but he’ll have to earn his way into the eight signature events this season by winning a tournament or qualifying through one of three pathways: Aon Next 10 (top 10 golfers in FedEx Cup points not otherwise exempt through the tournament leading up to a signature event); Aon Swing 5 (top five in FedEx Cup points earners between signature events who are not otherwise exempt); or the top 30 in the Official World Golf Ranking who are not otherwise eligible.
Koepka is ranked 244th in the OWGR because he hasn’t received world-ranking points for his LIV Golf finishes. He is not eligible for one of the four sponsor exemptions in any of the signature events this season.
The PGA Tour will expand fields in signature events, full-field tournaments and the Players Championship to accommodate golfers who come back under the Returning Member Program.
A returning member will be eligible to compete in the FedEx Cup playoffs if he qualifies through points, but he would be added to the field and wouldn’t impact another golfer’s eligibility. He also would be eligible to compete in the Presidents Cup.
“To ensure fairness to our current members, the Returning Member Program will not take away playing opportunities from our current members — fields will be expanded as needed,” Rolapp wrote in the memo.
Koepka was the first five-time winner in LIV Golf, but struggled in the majors last season, missing the cut in the Masters, PGA Championship and The Open and tying for 12th in the U.S. Open. He left the LIV Golf League on Dec. 23 with one year left on his contract.
“I think we all hoped it would have been a little bit further along, and that’s no secret,” Koepka said in April when asked to assess LIV Golf in its fourth season.
DeChambeau, one of the most popular golfers in the world, is believed to be in the final season of his four-year contract with LIV Golf, which is being financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Last month, DeChambeau told the “Flushing It” podcast that Koepka’s departure “throws in some unique things” in his negotiations with LIV.
“And look, I mean, like I’ve said all along, I want to do this, I want to grow team golf across the globe,” DeChambeau said. “But it has to be right. And there’s a lot of things that have to be done in order for it to be right, you know? Things have got to change. Things have got to improve.”
While reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy and others have supported LIV golfers coming back to the PGA Tour, Koepka’s return is certain to be controversial among the tour’s rank-and-file golfers and others.
Rolapp said the new program was a “direct response to a unique situation.”
“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.
“We recognize that there may be questions about how this policy holds a returning player accountable, especially after earning substantial compensation elsewhere. Ultimately, by accepting membership in the Returning Member category, Brooks is making the decision to return to the PGA Tour now — something our fans want, and something that strengthens both the game and our organization.”
