Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka returns to PGA Tour under strict penalties as LIV rivals given chance to return
The 35-year-old stunned golf when he quit LIV with a year of his contract remaining last month. The PGA Tour has now instigated a programme to encourage other major winners to leave the breakaway competition
Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka has returned to the PGA Tour after agreeing to stringent restrictions on his financial benefits and a charitable donation of five million US dollars.
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And the Tour has offered a "one-time, defined window" for fellow big names Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cam Smith to re-apply for membership in what appears to be a power-play against LIV.
The 35-year-old Koepka dropped a bombshell last month by quitting LIV Golf with a year of his contract remaining, stating he wanted to spend more time with his family.
He immediately applied for his PGA Tour membership to be reinstated, and his availability and high profile effectively caused officials to rewrite their own rules.
They have instigated a Returning Member Programme, which has been specifically designed for Koepka and his former LIV colleagues as it applies to players who have won any of the four majors or the Players Championship between 2022 and 2025.
I want to thank my family and my team for their continued support throughout every step of my professional career. When I was a child, I always dreamed about competing on the @PGATOUR, and I am just as excited today to announce that I am returning to the PGA TOUR. Being closer to… pic.twitter.com/SEIehuZN7O
— Brooks Koepka (@BKoepka) January 12, 2026
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"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," Koepka said on X.
"I also understand there are financial penalties associated with this decision, and I accept those."
DeChambeau, Rahm and Smith have a deadline of February 2 to apply for reinstatement if they want to feature this season, with "no promise this path will be available again", according to PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp in an open letter.
Rolapp said the new policy has "strict limitations, which Brooks has agreed to, (including) a five-year forfeiture of potential equity in the PGA Tour's Player Equity Program... with estimations that he could miss out on approximately 50-85 million US dollars in potential earnings."
The letter added: "At the request of the PGA Tour, Brooks has also agreed to make a five-million dollar charitable contribution, the recipient(s) of which will be determined jointly."