Tiger Woods and the PGA Tour, on the same day LIV Golf announced Brooks Koepka was leaving the league, received a letter from him asking if he could rejoin the circuit he left in 2022, and the process for him to return started, Woods says.
But the 15-time major winner also said that the Tour had been “rolling through scenarios for a very long time” regarding players coming back to the Tour from the rival circuit. And as to whether he would reach out to three LIV Golf players who could also soon return to the Tour, Woods said only this on Tuesday night:
They, too, would have to write a letter to Tour CEO Brian Rolapp and commissioner Jay Monahan.
Woods’ comments came following play at TGL, the simulator-based league he co-founded — and a day since the Tour announced that Koepka was returning next month under the newly created “Returning Member Program.” Under that policy, Koepka and three current LIV players — Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith — will be allowed back onto the PGA Tour through their wins in major championships over the past four years, but will have to agree to a series of conditions, including making a $5 million charitable donation and not receiving access to the Tour’s equity program for five years nor a bonus program for 2026.
As part of the announcement, Rolapp said that Koepka had agreed to those terms, a process that Woods said began on Dec. 23 and continued through the start of the new year. Koepka’s letter was soon relayed to the PGA Tour Policy Board the PGA Tour Enterprises board, a pair of leadership committees in which Woods works.
“We took that letter,” Woods said, “and then took it to both boards and tried to implement a plan that would be fair and adequate, that justifies Brooks’ time away from our tour, the penalties served, the fines if necessary, what the integration would look like on our tour, and obviously the bonus payouts, yes or no.
“We had lots of subsequent meetings, worked through the holidays. There was no days off. We just worked through it day after day after day, and we came out with a plan that we unveiled.”
Koepka was welcomed back, though, Woods said.
He ranked him, too.
“We get a probably top-three-of-his-generation player back that went to another tour,” Woods said, “played over there, and was adamant about coming back here and got out early to come back.
“That says a lot about the PGA Tour, where we’re headed, what we have done, what we accomplished and the players who have stayed and who have supported the Tour. Having another world-class player that these guys are going to try and beat, that’s what the fans demanded. That’s what the fans wanted for our fan initiative program, and I think we’ve addressed that.”
Next month, LIV will start its fifth season, and Koepka had been among those who took large, guaranteed payments to leave the Tour and join the Saudi-backed circuit. Talks to reunify men’s pro golf have mostly stalled, though Woods said Tuesday that a meeting that took place 11 months ago at the White House and included President Donald Trump reinvigorated talks to “make our sport unified again.”
“But this is a first move,” Woods said, “which is a great move.”
There’s the potential for more, too.
Under the Returning Member Program, DeChambeau, Rahm and Smith could also return to the PGA Tour, and the circuit set a Feb. 2 deadline for them to decide. Notably, each was a part of a LIV season preview press conference on Tuesday, and each had different answers to a moderator’s question referring to Koepka.
Said DeChambeau: “Yeah, I mean, look, I’m contracted through 2026, so I’m excited about this year.”
Said Rahm: “Yeah, I’m not planning on going anywhere. Very similar answer to what Bryson gave. I wish Brooks the best. As far as I’m concerned, I’m focused on the league and my team this year, and hopefully we can repeat as champions again.”
Said Smith: “I mean, I really don’t have any thoughts. I haven’t had a lot of time to think about it. But I know I’m here to stay. I’m here to support LIV. I’m a captain of a great team and a great group of people. I’m happy where I am. I’m proud of where I am. I think we do many great things, particularly in Australia, and I can’t wait for this league to keep growing.”
Could they be persuaded by Woods, though?
In response to a reporter’s question on Tuesday night, he said just this:
“Actually the CEO is Brian, so they need to talk to Brian, need to write a letter to Jay and Brian to get the ball rolling.”
