Wyndham Clark and Brooks Koepka are both in the Farmers Insurance Open field on the PGA Tour this week.
Brooks Koepka is set to make his first PGA Tour start in nearly four years at the Farmers Insurance Open after leaving to join LIV Golf in June 2022.
And Wyndham Clark seems to have performed a complete U-turn regarding his feelings on his fellow American’s return to the PGA Tour.
Koepka was reinstated as a PGA Tour member earlier this month, just weeks after he parted ways with LIV Golf.
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Speaking just after the five-time major champion was given his PGA Tour status back, Clark suggested that he was ‘torn’ about Koepka’s impending return, while claiming that the former LIV golfer should have faced more repercussions.
“Gosh, I’m so torn,“ Clark admitted.
“I mean, I personally really like Brooks.
“Um, you know, I think it’s ultimately really good for the PGA Tour.
“But also, you know, a guy that had an opportunity to go to LIV, it’s kind of frustrating that, you know, he’s able to get the cake and also eat it.
“So, I don’t know, I’m very torn because at the end of the day, I want whatever’s best for the PGA Tour. And I think if guys come back, especially top players like Brooks, it’s only going to help the Tour, which is ultimately going to help me.
“So, yeah, I mean, I don’t know really how I feel.
“I wish maybe there were a few more repercussions, but, you know, I’m glad the things they said are in place, I think they are pretty decent and I also like the hard deadline.
“I think that’s good. I just hope they stick with that and they don’t waver on that maybe in like a year or two.“
Wyndham Clark’s new verdict on Brooks Koepka’s PGA Tour return
Koepka is the talk of the town in PGA Tour circles right now, with his long-awaited return just around the corner.
During Monday night’s TGL clash between Boston Common and The Bay, Clark was asked to give his thoughts on Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour at Torrey Pines this week.
The 32-year-old’s stance on the matter seems to have softened somewhat.
He said: “Yeah, I mean, we all love Brooks, at least on the USA team side. Good friends with Brooks. I know he’s been missing some of the competition that’s on the PGA TOUR, and I think he’s excited to come back.
“Like Shane said, I think it’s great for the TOUR, and who knows, maybe he’s the first one of maybe many.
“But yeah, I think it just helps the TOUR, and whatever helps the TOUR is what I think all of us want because that ultimately helps all of us.“
Koepka’s return is unquestionably a good thing for the PGA Tour and a blow for LIV Golf.
PGA Tour players will benefit from Brooks Koepka’s return
The fact that Koepka is not eligible for either the player equity program for five years or FedEx Cup bonus money means that every other PGA Tour player will have the opportunity to increase their earnings, if the five-time major champion performs well, of course.
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He will also be donating $5 million to charity, as part of the deal that enabled him to regain his PGA Tour status.
The bottom line is that Koepka was clearly desperate to return to the PGA Tour from LIV.
He wouldn’t have agreed to all of those financial sanctions if he wasn’t.
It’s also worth remembering that Koepka is not eligible to play in any of the PGA Tour’s Signature Events, and will need to play his way into them.
There is no doubt that his return to the top level of the game will be a challenging one.
However, given his talent, he should have no problems getting back into contention in the big events within the next few months.
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