When some of its top players left for the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour, the PGA Tour suspended them and said it would pursue a permanent ban for anyone who defected.
Time heals all wounds, and now that LIV has proven itself unable to replicate the success, ratings, or visibility of the PGA Tour, some of those big names are being welcomed back.
Though not without a penalty.
The PGA Tour announced Monday it has established the “Returning Member Program,” which gives “players who have achieved elite levels of performance an alternative path back to the highest tier of men’s professional golf.” That announcement coincided with the news that Brooks Koepka would be returning to the Tour at the Farmers Insurance Open later this month.
Koepka was among the exodus of top golfers who left for LIV’s financial windfalls in 2022 and 2023. The former No. 1 player in the world left LIV in December “amicably” with one year remaining on his contract.
However, coming back with their hearts in hand won’t be enough for Koepka and his cohorts. The PGA Tour announced that Koepka has agreed to a five-year forfeiture of potential equity in the Tour’s Player Equity Program (approximately $50-85 million in potential earnings) and will also make a $5 million charitable contribution at the request of the Tour.
“There was no negotiating. It’s meant to hurt, it does hurt, but I understand. It’s not supposed to be an easy path,” Koepka told the AP on Monday. “I’ve got a lot of work to do with some of the players. There’s definitely guys who are happy, and definitely guys who will be angry … If anyone is upset, I need to rebuild those relationships.”
The highly specific criteria for golfers to qualify for the Returning Members Program include “elite performance-based criteria that require winning The Players Championship, Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, or The Open Championship between 2022 and 2025.”
It just so happens that LIV Golf players Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, and Cameron Smith meet that criteria (though DeChambeau and Rahm implied they’d be playing for LIV this season during a media event on Tuesday, while Smith outright said it). Regardless, they all have until Feb. 2 to decide if they’ll return to the PGA Tour. It is perhaps worth noting that outspoken PGA Tour critic and LIV Golf player Phil Mickelson does not meet the criteria for a potential return.
The question looming over all of this is what LIV’s future looks like, especially if more of its biggest names jump ship and return to the PGA. The long-gestating PGA-LIV merger seems to be on life support, if it’s even really still happening. While the PGA Tour made a $3b deal with Strategic Sports Group to create an equity program, interest in LIV has cratered. And now that players are kicking the tires on a return to the league, all of the momentum is moving in the PGA’s direction.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.