12/23/25

Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka has left LIV Golf, effective immediately.

According to LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil, “We have amicably and mutually agreed that Brooks Koepka will no longer compete in the LIV Golf League, following the 2025 season. Brooks is prioritizing the needs of his family and staying closer to home. We appreciate the significant impact he has had on the game and wish him continued success, both on and off the course.”

Brooks Koepka’s representatives also issued a statement, “Brooks Koepka will be stepping away from LIV Golf. He is deeply grateful to Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Scott O’Neil, and the LIV Golf leadership team, his teammates, and the fans. Family has always guided Brooks’s decisions, and he feels this is the right moment to spend more time at home. Brooks will continue to be a huge supporter of LIV Golf and wishes the league and its players continued success. Brooks remains passionate about the game of golf and will keep fans updated on what’s ahead.”

Koepka was the captain of the team Smash GC, where he owned 25% of the franchise, as all LIV Golf captains do. Talor Gooch will take the captaincy role starting with the 2026 season, but there was no word on whether there were any financial transactions involved.

Interestingly, the PGA Tour put out a statement on Koepka’s departure. Their statement reads, “Brooks Koepka is a highly accomplished professional, and we wish him and his family continued success. The PGA TOUR continues to offer the best professional golfers the most competitive, challenging and lucrative environment in which to pursue greatness.”

There have been rumors of Koepka leaving for quite some time, but a return to the PGA Tour remains unclear. The PGA Tour has issued suspensions for players who have participated in LIV Golf before coming back to the Tour. However, none of those players were the stardom of Koepka. Former LIV Golf and PGA Tour player Hudson Swafford claimed on the Subpar podcast that he was dinged with a five-year suspension, and he wouldn’t be eligible to join the PGA Tour before 2027.

Koepka has won five major championships in his career. Three PGA Championships, including back-to-back in 2018 and 2019, and two U.S. Opens. His two U.S. Open victories came in back-to-back fashion in 2017 and 2018. He joined LIV Golf for their second event in 2022, when it was held outside of Portland at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Course. When Koepka won the 2023 PGA Championship, he became the first current LIV Golfer to win a major championship.

Koepka had a tough run at the majors this year, missing the cut in three of the four. He did finish T-12 at the U.S. Open, but hasn’t finished inside the top 10 of a major since his 2023 PGA Championship triumph. Koepka has two Ryder Cup victories, winning in 2016 and 2021. This fall was the first Ryder Cup Koepka wasn’t on the United States team since 2014.

A return to the PGA Tour seems logical when connecting the dots. However, when he makes his return is a hot topic. The PGA Tour must decide whether to suspend one of the most marketable stars in the game or let him play and punish him in other ways. Players on the PGA Tour have had varying opinions on LIV Golf and the players on that tour. There’s also a new CEO on the PGA Tour, Brian Rolapp, who’s already behind the scenes attempting to make sweeping changes to the Tour, like significantly shrinking the schedule. Rolapp wasn’t part of the LIV Golf/PGA Tour split that occurred in 2022, as he was working for the NFL at the time. His philosophy on a punishment for those who went to LIV Golf could be different from that of the soon-to-be former PGA Tour Commissioner, Jay Monahan.

Koepka is 35 and still has the game to compete on the PGA Tour when at full strength. He’s one of the biggest names in both golf and sports and carries a large, ardent following.

The layers to the LIV Golf/PGA Tour rivalry are thick, confusing, and still developing. What happens to Koepka could compel other stars on LIV Golf to make a potential return to the PGA Tour, while lesser-known pros could feel slighted.

Whatever happens, it’s all but guaranteed to be messy. Seems to be a common theme in men’s professional golf as of late.

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