Brooks Koepka will make his PGA Tour return at next week’s Farmers Insurance Open.
The five-time major champion parted ways with LIV Golf on Dec. 23, and officially returned to the PGA Tour via a new, limited-time pathway called the “Returning Member Program” on Jan. 12. The PGA Tour already gave Koepka a spot in its latest commercial and his tee time at Torrey Pines next week will benefit two players who are not yet in the field.
New PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp had to walk a tightrope to bring Koepka back. Rolapp’s job was to find a way to bring Koepka back — thereby increasing the value of the PGA Tour — but to do so in a way that didn’t upset the rank-and-file membership. As part of the “Returning Member Program” guidelines, Koepka will not take another player’s spot in a field that he has committed to join. Instead, Koepka being in the field will add one or two spots to the field in order to make twosomes or threesomes work.
So on Monday, the PGA Tour will add the first two alternates to the Farmers Insurance Field to make it an even 147 for threesomes.
As of this writing, Matt Kuchar and Justin Lower are the top two alternates. Taylor Moore and Joel Dahmen are Nos. 3 and 4, respectively. Should any player in the field withdraw ahead of the 12 p.m. PT Monday deadline, Kuchar and Lower would be the first players to slot into the open spots, and Moore and Dahmen would then move up the alternate list.
To appease the membership, especially those outside the top 50 in the Official World Rankings, Koepka is also not eligible to receive a sponsor’s invite to the big-money Signature Events. He can play his way into them via the Aon Next 10, Aon Swing 5 or by jumping into the top 30 in the OWGR. Koepka will also play the following week at the WM Phoenix Open, giving him two weeks to play his way into the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational.
In the end, Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour and the way Rolapp structured the pathway back were a win for the PGA Tour, its stars and the rank-and-file membership.
“We get a probably top-three-of-his-generation player back that went to another tour,” Tiger Woods said of Koepka’s return. “[He] 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.”
Added Rickie Fowler: “I think it’s great. I feel like Brooks has been in a position, he’s wanted to be back playing with us for quite a while, so I’m very happy that we’re back in the position where we’re at now.”
The “Returning Members Program” opened the door for Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith to return to the PGA Tour by Feb. 2, but all three have said they plan to remain on LIV Golf.
While those three will prepare for the Saudi-backed league’s season to start in Riyadh on Feb. 4, Koepka will tee it up on the PGA Tour for the first time in three years next week at Torrey Pines.
And his return will bring an added benefit for two players in Southern California next week.
