PGA Tour Reveals Path Back For Some LIV Golfers After Brooks Koepka Is Reinstated And Announced His First Events Back

Former FSU golfer and 5-time Major Champion Brooks Koepka announced his official return to the PGA Tour. This came after Brooks left LIV Golf following the conclusion of his contract and applied for PGA Tour reinstatement.

It barely took a week but the PGA Tour officially reinstated Brooks Koepka, a 3-time winner of the PGA Championship and 2-time U.S. Open Champion, and in doing so they revealed a path back to the PGA Tour for some golfers that left for LIV Golf.

Brooks Koepka Is Back on the PGA Tour, Path from LIV to PGA Revealed

Following a meeting of the PGA Tour’s Player Advisory Council, a memo was sent to PGA Tour members announcing a new policy following the reinstatement of Brooks Koepka. There will be several stipulations, but he is back.

The new reinstatement policy will be available to golfers who have (1) been away from the PGA Tour for 2 or more years and (2) won a Major Championship or the PLAYERS Championship since 2022.

As you can imagine, that is a short list of golfers that qualify and all of them are on the LIV Golf tour. That list includes Jon Rahm, Bryson, Cam Smith, and Brooks. Eligible players also have a strict deadline to apply for reinstatement of February 2nd with LIV Golf beginning its 2026 season on February 4th in Saudi Arabia.

Noticeably absent from meeting that criteria is Phil Mickelson. Lefty won the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island and in doing so became the oldest Major Championship winner of all time.

The ‘2022’ stipulation seems like a very deliberate decision to block Phil Mickelson from being eligible for PGA Tour reinstatement, as things currently stand.

On X, Brooks Koepka announced his return. His first two tournaments back on the PGA Tour will be the Farmers Insurance Open and WM Phoenix Open.

Brooks wrote “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 home and spending more time with my family makes this opportunity especially meaningful to me.”

He added “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.”

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

PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp Releases Statement

Following the news of Brooks Koepka’s PGA Tour reinstatement, the TOUR CEO Brian Rolapp released the following statement:

As a lover of the game of golf and an FSU alumnus, it brings me great joy to see Brooks Koepka back on the PGA Tour where I can reliably watch him compete on TV week after week. When I went to The Masters last April I was able to catch Brooks’ full range session on Tuesday and it was amazing watching him hit bomb after bomb on the range, juggling between what seemed like five different drivers at the time. Dialing it in.

The comments/replies on X in response to Brooks Koepka’s PGA Tour announcement are mixed, as could be expected. The heated rift between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf has not simmered down one bit in the past few years and the back-and-forth will only get ramped up further now that Brooks has left LIV Golf for the PGA Tour.