Jan. 12 (UPI) — Brooks Koepka will return to the PGA Tour, but faces $85 million in potential lost earnings, officials announced Monday.
Koepka, who left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf in 2022, ended his contract with the Saudi Arabia-financed league in December and applied for reinstatement Dec. 23. He will be welcomed back under the Tour’s returning member program, which was announced Monday by PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp.
“I want to thank my family and my team for their continued support throughout every step of my professional career,” Koepka wrote Monday on his social media platforms. “When I was a child, I always dreamed about competing on the PGA Tour, and I am just as excited today to announce that I am returning to the PGA Tour.
“Being closer to home and spending more time with my family makes this opportunity especially meaningful to me. I believe in where the PGA Tour is headed with new leadership, new investors and an equity program that gives players a meaningful ownership stake.
“I also understand there are financial penalties associated with this decision, and I accept those. Finally, I want to thank the fans. Your support means more to me today than ever before, and I look forward to seeing you soon at the Farmers Insurance Open and WM Phoenix Open.”
Rolapp wrote that Koepka’s application for reinstatement prompted the PGA Tour board to create the returning member program, which mandates “heavy and appropriate limitations to both tournament access and potential earnings” that officials “believe properly holds returning members accountable for substantial compensation earned elsewhere.”
The program also includes “elite performance-based criteria,” which requires winning the Players Championship, Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, U.S. Open or British Open between 2022 and 2025.
“Its strict limitations, which Brooks has agreed to, include a five-year forfeiture of potential equity in the PGA Tour’s player equity program, representing one of the largest financial repercussions in professional sports history, with estimations that he could miss out on approximately $50 [million] to $85 million in potential earnings, depending on his competitive performance and the growth of the Tour,” Rolapp wrote.
“At the request of the PGA Tour, Brooks has also agreed to make a $5 million charitable contribution, the recipient(s) of which will be determined jointly.”
I want to thank my family and my team for their continued support throughout every step of my professional career. When I was a child, I always dreamed about competing on the @PGATOUR, and I am just as excited today to announce that I am returning to the PGA TOUR. Being closer to… pic.twitter.com/SEIehuZN7O— Brooks Koepka (@BKoepka) January 12, 2026
Tournament fields also will be extended to account for current members and players from the returning member program. Rolapp wrote other players interested in reinstatement through the returning member program must apply by Feb. 2.
“This is a one-time, defined window and does not set a precedent for future situations,” Rolapp wrote. “Once the door closes, there is no promise that this path will be available again.”
Koepka, 35, sits at No. 244 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He frequently ranked inside the Top 5 and Top 10, including a run as the top player in the world, before his move to LIV Golf. The five-time major champion is a three-time winner of the PGA Championship, including a title-winning run in 2023.
Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau are the only players to win major titles while competing for LIV Golf. Koepka is now sit to be in the field for the Farmers Insurance Open, which will be held from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1 in San Diego. He made his last appearance at the tournament in 2022.
The 2026 WM Phoenix Open, a tournament Koepka won in 2021, will be held Feb. 5 through 8 in Scottsdale, Ariz.
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