Rory McIlroy: Brooks Koepka’s Return to PGA Tour May Signal Decline of Rival LIV Golf
Renowned golfer Rory McIlroy stated that the return of professional golfer Brooks Koepka to the PGA Tour, shortly after joining the Saudi-funded rival LIV Golf league, could be a sign of the rival tour’s deteriorating state.
Koepka, 35, has returned to PGA Tour trials after controversially joining the Saudi LIV Golf series in 2022.
As part of his return, Koepka agreed to make a charitable contribution of up to $5 million (£3.7 million). Furthermore, he will forfeit any payments from the FedExCup Bonus scheme during the 2026 season and will be ineligible for the Tour’s player equity program between 2026 and 2030, which could range between $50 million and $85 million.
While Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, and Cam Smith have announced they will continue playing in LIV Golf, the lack of any new signings means, according to McIlroy, that the power dynamics may be shifting.
“It’s not as if they’ve signed any big deals this year, have they?” the Northern Irishman told The Daily Telegraph.
“They haven’t got anyone who moves the needle, and I don’t think they will. I mean, they can renew Bryson’s contract for hundreds of millions of dollars, but even if they do, will that change their product?”
“They’ll just be paying for more of the same. And Brooks has walked away.”
Former U.S. Open runner-up Wyndham Clark, who played alongside Koepka on the 2023 U.S. Ryder Cup team, said he feels some “hesitation” about Koepka’s return to the PGA schedule after having turned down an offer from LIV himself.
“I personally like Koepka, and I think it’s fundamentally a good thing for the PGA Tour. But on the other hand, you know, he’s a player who had the chance to go to LIV, and it’s frustrating that he can have his cake and eat it too,” Clark said.
“I had the offer. It was about two and a half years ago. And if you told me I could go play for two and a half years, make a massive financial return, and then come back and play on the PGA Tour, I think almost everyone would do that.”
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