After leaving LIV Golf, Brooks Koepka’s schedule is pretty open at the moment.
While his potential path back to the PGA Tour is unclear, Rory McIlroy would like to see Koepka play in TGL, his and Tiger Woods’ tech-infused golf league, should that appeal to the five-time champion. Koepka would be an added value for the simulator competition. He is one of the game’s biggest stars. But McIlroy notes that it’s not as simple as him being okay with Koepka playing, even though he is a co-founder of the league.
“I would say that’s up to people more powerful and important than me. But I’m a founding member. I’d like him to play,” McIlroy said Friday after his Boston Common team’s 7-5 victory at Los Angeles Golf Club. “If there’s room on a team for Brooks to come play, it just makes what we’re trying to do even stronger. He’s a five-time major league champion. He’s been one of the best players of our generation. If he decides this is something he wants to do, I’m sure we’ll find a way to get him involved.”
The PGA Tour co-owns TGL, so allowing Koepka to compete would raise a number of questions that no one currently has answers to. No LIV golfers participated in the first season of TGL. Tyrrell Hatton was supposed to be part of McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf team, but was replaced by Hideki Matsuyama when he went to LIV. Jon Rahm was also initially set to be part of the TGL roster, but dropped out before making his own move to LIV.
Koepka joined LIV Golf in 2022 and played four seasons before deciding to split from the league on December 23. In a statement about the parting ways, Koepka’s representatives said he was going to focus on spending more time with his family, but noted that this was not the end of Koepka’s competitive career.
“Brooks remains passionate about the game of golf and will keep fans updated on what lies ahead,” the statement said.
The PGA Tour has not commented on Koepka’s future other than issuing an ambiguous statement after Koepka’s split with LIV was announced.
“Brooks Koepka is a very talented professional and we wish him and his family the best of luck,” the PGA Tour said in a statement. “The PGA Tour continues to provide the best professional golfers with the most competitive, challenging and lucrative environment in which to pursue greatness.”
Bryson DeChambeau’s LIV contract extension? Brooks Koepka’s departure creates ripples
By means of:
Josh Schrock
McIlroy, who once fronted the PGA Tour’s crusade against LIV, has since softened his stance on those who defected to the Saudi-backed league and believes it should be an easy decision for the PGA Tour to find a way to bring Koepka back if it so chooses. But the way back is unclear due to a number of problems.
“Does it make sense for Brooks to want to play the PGA Tour again to get him back as quickly as possible? Absolutely,” McIlroy told The Palm Beach Post on Friday. “What Brooks has done in golf, it would be good for everyone to have him back.
“It’s hard (because) you can’t treat one person differently than you treat others. And as much as the Tour would like to treat Brooks differently, it sets a legal precedent, because of the lawsuits that have gone on and everything else behind the scenes. He’s still exempt on the Tour because of his big wins. That’s not the hurdle. The hurdle is how they’ve treated others who have tried to come back, serve suspensions, or whatever. That’s the hard part.”
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan suspended players who participated in LIV events without releases from conflicting events. Hudson Swafford told GOLF’s Subpar podcast that he is currently serving a five-year ban for playing three seasons at LIV.
While not everyone on the PGA Tour shares McIlroy’s views, the career Grand Slam champion would have no problem bringing LIV stars back to the Tour to strengthen the product and unify the game.
“They made the money, but they paid the consequences in terms of, you know, you talk about the reputation and some of the things they lost by going there,” McIlroy said. The overlaps Stick to Football Podcast. “If it would make the overall Tour stronger to have Bryson DeChambeau and whoever back, I would be fine with it, but again, it’s not up to me and I recognize that not everyone is in my position, so you know, it would be up to the collective group of PGA Tour members to make that decision,” McIlroy said.
As the start of the 2026 PGA Tour season approaches, Koepka’s immediate future is unclear. But it is McIlroy’s hope that the great killer will soon be back on the PGA Tour and also stalk the grounds of the SoFi Center if he so chooses.
But those decisions are beyond McIlroy’s control.
#Brooks #Koepka #play #TGL #Rory #McIlroy #love #add