Brooks Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour left many trying to see the bigger picture.
Tommy Fleetwood took the opposite approach.
The PGA Tour’s decision to welcome Koepka back from LIV Golf on a one-off route for ‘elite’ players was a blow to the leading group. Koepka is the first big name to return to the PGA Tour. And while the PGA Tour tried to entice Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith to use its limited “Returning Member Program” to follow Koepka, the five-time major champion’s decision to return rests on one man alone. That’s how Fleetwood sees it.
“I think people generally want to play where their goals or dreams align,” Fleetwood said on Tuesday ahead of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. “They want to play where they feel like they can pursue them. Personally, I play where I feel like I can still pursue my dreams, and I’m in the best place to be the best golfer I can be. Other people might think differently.”
“I think Brooks does that. He wants to play where he feels like he can get the most out of himself and play his best golf, and that’s obviously where he’s made his decisions and ultimately comes back.”
Rahm, DeChambeau and Smith have already said they plan to continue playing on LIV and will not return to the PGA Tour before the Feb. 2 deadline. DeChambeau’s contract with LIV expires at the end of the 2026 season, and the two-time US Open champion now has more influence than any golfer in history. He admitted that Koepka’s departure has added a wrinkle to his contract extension negotiations and said playing the four majors and spending the rest of his time as a YouTube golfer is a “viable” option. Rahm still has several years left on his contract, and it’s unclear how much money he’ll have to leave on the table to try to return to the PGA Tour. As for Smith, he seems genuinely happy with LIV’s team format and annual visit to his home country of Australia.
When asked whether or not Koepka’s decision to return to the PGA Tour will be the first domino in a series of elite players leaving the leading group, Fleetwood has no answer.
Nobody does that.
“I don’t know what the future holds,” Fleetwood said. “I saw the interview with the guys, Jon and Bryson and Cameron, and they’re obviously very geared up to play LIV Golf, and that’s where they want to play. Who knows? I don’t think anyone really knows what’s going to happen. It’s kind of the same situation that everyone is in.”
“The [PGA] Tour is located in a great spot. We play some incredible events for a ridiculous amount of money on the PGA Tour, and I think it’s been in a great place and I’m very grateful that I get to play where I do. It’s great for the PGA Tour to have Brooks back and playing. Where it will be next, I really don’t know.”
Tour Confidential: Koepka’s return, Rolapp’s leadership, LIV’s next move
By means of:
GOLF Editors
While Fleetwood isn’t sure what Koepka’s return means for the bigger picture of pro golf’s civil war, the PGA Tour’s two biggest stars have a different opinion. There is symbolism in Koepka’s return and a statement about where things are going.
“We’re probably getting back a top-three player of his generation who has gone to another tour,” Tiger Woods said of Koepka’s return after last week’s TGL event. “I played there and was determined to get back here and get out there early to get back. That says a lot about the PGA Tour, where we’re going, what we’ve done, what we’ve accomplished and the players who have stayed and who have supported the Tour. To have another world-class player that these guys are going to try to beat, that’s what the fans demanded. That’s what the fans wanted for our fan initiative program, and I think we addressed that.”
Added Rory McIlroy an exclusive interview with That of the Telegraaf James Corrigan: “It’s not like they’ve made any big signings this year, right? They haven’t signed anyone who raises the bar and I don’t think they will. I mean, they could re-sign Bryson for hundreds of millions of dollars, but even if they do, it doesn’t change their product, right? They’re just paying for the exact same thing.”
“And they lost Brooks.”
Brooks Koepka will officially put the tee in the ground as a member of the PGA Tour next week at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. He plays where he wants to play, on a Tour that he believes gives him the best opportunities to be the best version of Brooks Koepka.
Whether it will be more than that remains to be seen.
#Brooks #Koepkas #return #PGA #Tour #revealed #Tommy #Fleetwood