Brooks Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour was made possible by a myriad of factors, but it really boiled down to timing.
The five-time major champion officially parted ways with LIV Golf on December 23 and notified the PGA Tour that he wanted to return to the place that he used to call home. As the first star to leave LIV Golf, Koepka’s name value and the symbolism of his defection were reason enough for the PGA Tour to find a way to open the door for him. But the fact that the decision was left to new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp, rather than outgoing commissioner Jay Monahan, was an important factor.
“This is why I think it’s great timing with Brian Rolapp coming in,” Stoltz said. “There’s none of the pettiness like when the PGA Tour and LIV first happened. There was basically two camps — PGA Tour or LIV. It got heated. The people who left, the social media messages they would get, it was bad. Rolapp wasn’t around for any of that. He has been an NFL guy. He’s like, ‘Oh, I can bring back one of the preeminent players in the world to our Tour, who is currently not on our Tour, and that makes us better? Yes do it. All the other stuff be damned.’
“I don’t think that would happen if the same leadership was in place right now. It it wasn’t Brian Rolapp, I don’t think that would be the case.”
Added Knost: “This guy doesn’t care about the past. He says, “What can I do to make this product the best?’ You know what? Bringing Brooks Koepka back improves our product. It’s interesting, man. It’s the right move for the PGA Tour. Making him sit out a year? What good does that do for anybody? It hurts Brooks Koepka from a competition standpoint. Let’s get him back. Let’s get him going. He’s a huge name. He’s a five-time major champion. I’m sorry, not everyone is treated the same. That’s why this little category they just created, there is four people in it.”
To bring Koepka back, Rolapp created a limited pathway called the Returning Member Program. That program allows any player who won a major or the Players between 2022 and 2025 to return to the PGA Tour, with a financial penalty. The pathway, which is open for Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith, closes on February 2.
All three of those players have already stated they will remain with LIV Golf, but Stolz believes elite players will be able to return to the PGA Tour at another time should they choose. If Rolapp can make the PGA Tour product better, he will.
“Let’s say they don’t jump during the window, but later in the season they are like, ‘Hey, I think I’m ready to come back.’ If the name is big enough, and there is only a few of them over there, I think they will acquiesce to whatever they want to get them back,” Stoltz said.
To hear more from Stoltz and Knost, check out the full Subpar below.
