Brooks Koepka is a PGA Tour member once again after a near four-year hiatus following his move to LIV Golf in 2022.
Koepka was stunningly reinstated as a PGA Tour member earlier this month, just weeks after he parted ways from LIV Golf.
The PGA Tour made a big song and dance about how they hit Koepka with numerous financial and competitive sanctions.
However, there will obviously be certain PGA Tour players who are not happy that the American has been allowed to return so quickly after his exit from LIV.
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Koepka himself is very happy to be back on the PGA Tour, and he’s set to make his first start since returning on Thursday at the Farmers Insurance Open.
And the five-time major champion could face some difficult conversations at Torrey Pines this week, it seems.
Hideki Matsuyama shocked Brooks Koepka was allowed back on the PGA Tour
PGA Tour star Hideki Matsuyama is one of the few players to have come out and shared his dismay that Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour was so seamless.
Most players have shared their delight that the five-time major champion will be back playing on the PGA Tour.
However, Wyndham Clark admitted he was torn about Koepka’s return and now Matsuyama has taken an even stronger stance.
The 2021 Masters champion spoke to Golf Digest Japan about Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour, and he clearly isn’t entirely happy about the situation.
“I was shocked to hear about it in the news,“ Matsuyama admitted.
“I thought, ‘He can come back…?’ He achieved results on LIV, so that’s probably why they took that measure.
“I have nothing against the player himself. I actually think Brooks is pretty impressive for having the courage to make that decision [to terminate his LIV contract].
“But I do question why the PGA Tour didn’t explain things to the players beforehand. At the very least, I wasn’t aware such a rule existed.
“While there’s a financial hit, what about the non-monetary aspects? What happened to the idea that players who joined LIV couldn’t compete on the PGA Tour for a year… That’s what I’m more concerned about.
“We’re the ones playing. The PGA Tour makes the decisions. It doesn’t matter what we say.”
Matsuyama is clearly not happy with the PGA Tour’s decision to allow Koepka to return instantly.
As the Japanese star rightly says, where was the 35-year-old’s year-long ban from returning to the PGA Tour after playing in his last LIV event?
PGA Tour’s Brooks Koepka decision was a clear and obvious ploy
It’s obvious why the PGA Tour allowed Koepka to return straight away.
It was a clear move to try and kill LIV Golf dead in their tracks. While that may not have worked just yet, LIV are clearly on the ropes.
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They’ve now lost Koepka and Reed – two of their better players – and they still haven’t managed to tie Jon Rahm down to a long-term deal.
The past few weeks have been hugely positive for the PGA Tour.
However, Matsuyama has proven that not everything is rosy behind closed doors, after his comments on Koepka’s return.
He definitely has a point as well. Surely the PGA Tour should be informing their members of the monumental decisions they are about to make?
Perhaps Matsuyama’s comments will make Brian Rolapp and co. take stock of how they deal with this kind of situation moving forward.
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