Brooks Koepka Says He’s ‘Got a Lot of Work To Do’ With Players After PGA Tour Return

Brooks Koepka knows not everyone forgives and forgets.

So when he returns to the PGA Tour in two weeks at the Farmers Insurance Open, after leaving LIV Golf in December, he hopes to make amends with his new and old competitors.

“I’ve got a lot of work to do with some of the players,” Koepka told the Associated Press Monday after being reinstated by the PGA Tour. “There’s definitely guys who are happy, and definitely guys who will be angry. It’s a harsh punishment financially. I understand exactly why the tour did that—it’s meant to hurt. But it [his departure] hurt a lot of people.

“If anyone is upset, I need to rebuild those relationships.”

The Tour allowed the five-time major champion to return under the conditions of a one-time “Returning Member Program,” which was only available to LIV players who have won a major or Players Championship since 2022. Besides Koepka, only Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cam Smith fit that criteria and have until Feb. 2 to decide if they want to follow in Koepka’s footsteps.

There are sanctions for coming back, though. Koepka will pay a $5 million fine that will be donated to charity, he’ll have no access to FedEx Cup bonus money in this year, can’t receive sponsor exemptions into signature events and can’t collect Tour equity for the next five years.

“Forfeiting five years of potential equity in our Player Equity Program represents one of the largest financial repercussions in professional sports history,” PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said in a statement.

An open letter from PGA TOUR CEO Brian Rolapp pic.twitter.com/jiuZk1RiLp
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 12, 2026

Koepka, however, is at peace with that.

“There was no negotiating,” Koepka said. “It’s meant to hurt, it does hurt, but I understand. It’s not supposed to be an easy path. There’s a lot of people that were hurt by it when I left, and I understand that’s part of coming back.”

The penalties he’ll face, though, soften the antipathy Tour pros might have about Koepka.

“Like most guys, when you hear he’s coming back, your first instinct is to be upset,” Brian Harman told the Associated Press. “But I think the punishment is real. It’s not a free pass back into perfectly good graces. Your main thing is, ‘Where’s the one-year suspension? Where’s the time served?’ I think that will be the hardest hurdle for PGA Tour players to get over. But $5 million is a lot.”

Koepka left the Tour in 2022 to join LIV. He won the 2023 PGA Championship but hasn’t recorded a top 10 in a major since. Last year he finished 31st in LIV’s season-long individual standings.

So how will he feel when he tees it up in two weeks?

“The first week I’ll be a little bit nervous,” the 35-year-old said. “There’s a lot going on than just golf. I’ll be glad to put the first week behind me—dealing with the media, dealing with the players, and then getting some of those tougher conversations. But I’m looking forward to it.

“Am I nervous? Yes. Am I excited? Yes. In a weird way, I want to have those conversations.”

It remains to be seen how fans on-site will view him. Remember, four years ago, he originally said he wouldn’t leave the PGA Tour, before going back on his word, a move Rory McIlroy called “duplicitous” at the time (McIlroy recently said he’d be O.K. with LIV players rejoining the Tour).

“There’s probably a mixed bag of, ‘we’re happy you’re back, welcome home’ to ‘you shouldn’t be here.’ I understand everybody’s point of view,” Koepka said. “I was going to be sitting out possibly a year, and I’m extremely thankful the tour gave me this opportunity.”

Because for his career and personal life, he felt this was best for him, even though there will be some detractors.

“I needed to be there with my family over the last few months. I needed to be closer to home,” Koepka said. “I was able to get out of the LIV contract, everything lined up perfectly and I was able to get back on Tour.”

More Golf from Sports Illustrated