What's Next for Brooks Koepka After LIV Golf?

Joseph LaMagna: LIV Golf announced that Brooks Koepka wouldn’t be returning for the 2026 season despite still being under contract. Well, that wasn’t necessarily the spirit of the announcement. At least on the LIV website, the announcement was packaged as a statement that Talor Gooch would be assuming the captaincy for Smash GC. Talk about burying the lede! 

Koepka’s dissatisfaction with LIV has been long rumored, and the idea of his potential departure heated up in more recent weeks. But the news is now official: Koepka is no longer a LIV golfer. As things stand, we don’t know where the five-time major winner will be playing next year. The PGA Tour issued a short, non-descript statement wishing Koepka the best without offering any clarity on his eligibility or current suspension. Perhaps he’ll play a DP World Tour schedule plus the major championships in 2026 before attempting a return to the PGA Tour in 2027. Or maybe Brian Rolapp lifts Koepka’s PGA Tour suspension immediately and brings one of the most accomplished players of the last decade back to the Tour for the upcoming season.

Regardless, from a name recognition standpoint, it’s a blow to the LIV roster, as it represents the first significant name to quit LIV before the end of his contract. 

Kevin, let’s just start here. Why does Koepka leaving LIV matter? 

Kevin Van Valkenburg: I think it matters in terms of narrative. It was always clear Brooks thought various aspects of LIV were beneath him, despite the breathless denials of LIV Stans on the Everything App. They're a little quieter today than normal. 

I don't think Brooks is done winning majors. He will be competitive in future U.S. Opens. Part of what's compelling here is whether his exit deflates whatever smidgeon of credibility LIV had worked to build. One of the best players of this generation would rather sit out a year and forfeit millions of dollars than continue to play golf in that environment. It does say something about the future of LIV, like it or not. Players who signed with LIV were promised 54 holes and World Ranking points. As of right now, they're playing 72 holes and they still don't have World Ranking points. 

The biggest question for me is whether this begins a domino effect. I'm not convinced it will. Bryson DeChambeau seems emotionally invested in LIV, and Jon Rahm is financially tethered to LIV for years to come. Even if Rahm wanted to follow Koepka’s lead, I don't think he could. 

The most compelling question now is: What should the PGA Tour do? I'm sure there is a contingent of fans who want to see Koepka back, and a contingent of players (the ones who stayed with the Tour and passed on millions) who do not want him back, not without serving a significant penalty. Will new CEO Brian Rolapp pick sides? Does he even have the authority to override the wishes of the PGA Tour board? 

Joseph: I agree that the most compelling facet of the situation is Rolapp’s handling. From a purely product standpoint, I don’t think Koepka’s departure changes anything about LIV. On its current trajectory, the future of LIV is much more a function of how long the PIF can withstand the expenditure and embarrassment of Yasir Al-Rumayyan’s pet project than how many major champions are on Smash GC. 

How Rolapp decides to proceed will establish precedent for bringing talent back to the PGA Tour. If he lifts Koepka’s suspension and grants him immediate status, it could open the pathway for dissatisfied LIV golfers to rejoin the Tour somewhat seamlessly. I understand the argument for the Tour to proceed this way. It signals a win in that it reverses the flow of players choosing LIV over the PGA Tour, while also providing an immediate boost to Tour fields. 

That decision does not come without trade-offs, however. Forget how the mules would react – that really doesn’t matter. The downside is that if LIV golfers can rejoin the PGA Tour without serving the duration of their suspension, it lessens the deterrent for PGA Tour players to sign with LIV, knowing they can take a bag of cash (if those offers are even still on the table) and jump back without a significant penalty. It would establish a precedent that could ultimately backfire. 

With no insight into sources familiar with the PGA Tour’s thinking — I believe that’s the expression these days — in my opinion, the cleanest solution is to have Koepka serve a one-year suspension, play on the DP World Tour in 2026, and return to the PGA Tour in 2027 with status from his 2023 PGA Championship win. 

‍Changes may be coming to the structure of the PGA Tour in 2027 anyway, and this would buy Rolapp time to create a clean solution for determining Koepka’s — and future other players’ — status back onto the Tour for the ‘27 season without establishing a potentially short-sighted precedent. 

Kevin: Regardless of what this means for LIV or the PGA Tour, I’m excited about what this means for Koepka. I think a year away from the weekly grind of pro golf — playing only in the majors, spending quality time with his wife and son — might be the best thing for him as he tries to maximize the rest of his 30s. 

His greatest talent as a golfer has always been his patience. It’s possible he doesn’t play well because he lacks reps under pressure. But now he can prepare for majors however he wants. In 2025, he was contractually obligated to play at Trump Doral the week before the Masters and Robert Trent Jones Golf Course the week before the U.S. Open. He had to go to Korea two weeks before the PGA Championship. Because of LIV tournaments in Spain and England bookending the Open, he essentially had to spend the entire month of July in Europe, then zip home to tee it up at Bolingbrook Golf Club in Chicago. Perhaps, as Don Draper would remind us, that’s what the money is for. But it doesn’t feel like the best way to peak during the majors. 

When his wife, Jena, shared that she’d suffered a miscarriage this year, a message she wanted to make public to help remove the stigma of silence when it comes to grieving that kind of loss, I started to wonder if Koepka might tell LIV he had no interest in their mandatory participation model. Think what you will of him, but he is fiercely loyal to his family and close friends. Whether he rejoins the PGA Tour at some point is less interesting to me than the prospect of seeing him at Shinnecock in June, ready to chase a U.S. Open with a clean bill of health and a clear head.