It appears that Brooks Koepka is well placed to become the first big name to make the jump away from LIV Golf this winter.
There appears to be a significant question mark over Koepka’s future with LIV Golf. While he is under contract for 2026, there is speculation that he may not play in the league in the upcoming season.
What would the impact of Brooks Koepka leaving LIV Golf be?
Obviously, the world is waiting for Brooks Koepka to make his future plans clear. Koepka would have to pay LIV a significant sum to break out of his contract one year early.
The 35-year-old is apparently unhappy on LIV. That is not entirely surprising when you consider that the five-time major champion does not even wear the same clothing as his teammates on Smash GC.
Should Koepka not play on LIV in 2026, the big question will be what happens next.
What Brooks Koepka suggested about his LIV Golf future back in 2023
The PGA Tour have tried to deter players from joining LIV by making it clear that they would not have a simple pathway back. But obviously, bringing Koepka back into the fold would make a big statement.
It seems that Koepka has been open to the possibility of leaving LIV Golf for some time.
Speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast about the speculation, Rex Hoggard has suggested that Koepka has never been entirely content with his decision to jump ship from the PGA Tour.
“That was part of the rumour mill last week in the Bahamas [at the Hero World Challenge], there was a lot of talk about that. And let’s just go back two and a half seasons, I think Brooks was the first player to sort of crack the door open, at least behind closed doors, that maybe he would want to come back to the PGA Tour,” he said.
“He’s probably the one who got everyone thinking about what would the pathway look like? We spend a lot of time talking about how these players have turned their back on the PGA Tour, and good riddance, and they can go about their business, and we’ll just continue on these separate tracks together.
“I do think there is a precedent set that Hudson Swafford has been told by the PGA Tour what his penance would be if he ever wants to come back to the PGA Tour. And it is built in, because it’s from the date of your last start on LIV Golf – an unauthorised event according to the language of the PGA Tour – and it’s roughly two years.
“Brooks would be a little bit different, because, as I’ve had conversations with people at the PGA Tour, certain players are going to be dealt with differently when it comes to this. If you resigned your tour membership before you joined LIV Golf – which some did, Dustin Johnson did for example – if you did not participate in the lawsuit – go back to that first year there was a lawsuit that was very bitter and very ugly – and if you pretty much kept your mouth shut and didn’t turn this into an us against them situation, whatever penalty there would be, it would dramatically less than players who maybe did do those things.
“So you don’t know which category Brooks would fall in right now.”
How Brooks Koepka would feel about playing on the DP World Tour during the 2026 season
As Hoggard suggests, the PGA Tour would struggle to just allow Koepka to return immediately. He would not be the first player to leave LIV. And those who have departed the league have not been able to pick up where they left off in the States.
But perhaps that will not be a stumbling block – if Koepka does indeed want to leave.
What is your craziest golf prediction for the 2026 season?
Our three BOLD golf predictions for 2026!
Hoggard went on to note that playing on the DP World Tour would be a possibility for Koepka. And he believes that it would be something that he would be very open to doing.
“Let’s say he does not fulfil that contract in 2026, clearly, there would have to be some sort of negotiation between he and LIV Golf and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, he could immediately start playing the European Tour,” he added.
“If we remember, that’s how he started his career, playing on the Challenge Tour, earned his status on the European Tour and eventually made his way over to the PGA Tour. I think he would be completely comfortable doing that. That, to me, is the more fascinating pathway, because that makes more sense to me than Brooks Koepka sitting out for a year or a year and a half just waiting for his turn again.”
The first victory Koepka had at the highest level came on the European Tour in 2014 when he won the Turkish Airlines Open.
Koepka said playing the Challenge Tour was the most fun he had in his career earlier this year.
While the end goal will surely be to get back to the PGA Tour, Koepka is perhaps the one American superstar who will be prepared to spend time on the European circuit to make it happen – if he is indeed looking to leave LIV.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
