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Brooks Koepka’s decision to leave LIV Golf years after becoming one of the notable faces to join the renegade league sent shockwaves through the sport this week.
Koepka played in the LIV Golf Series for more than three seasons, winning five events during that span and taking home the PGA Championship in 2023.
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Smash GC’s Brooks Koepka plays his shot from the third tee during the quarterfinals of the LIV Golf Michigan Team Championship at The Cardinal at Saint John’s Resort on August 22, 2025. (Aaron Doster/Image Images)
Golf commentator Brandel Chamblee on Friday offered his two cents on fans clamoring for Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour, writing in a post on X that he disagreed with the idea.
“I certainly don’t agree with this,” he wrote. “Allowing Brooks Koepka to return to the PGA Tour without consequences would undermine the meritocratic foundations that make the PGA Tour legitimate, not because of who he is, but because of the sign of his return.”
Chamblee said there should be some kind of sanction for Koepka, or anyone else who jumped into the league, which is backed by the Saudi government.
“LIV did more than just offer an alternative league, it fractured courses, diluted competitive significance, sparked a legal war, undermined sponsorship stability and forced structural changes across professional golf,” he continued. “Koepka was not a passive spectator, but a marquee legitimizer.
“He’s not punished for being influential, but you can’t pretend his influence didn’t matter. His credibility made LIV viable, his stature normalized defection, and his success (especially after joining LIV) validated disruption.”
Brooks Koepka of the United States waves to the crowd on the fifth green during the first round of the British Open golf championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison, File)
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Chamblee suggested that a penalty would be enough and that reinstatement to the PGA Tour would be the route officials should take.
“A sanction would not be so much a punishment as a recognition of choice and the consequence does not need to be punitive to be meaningful,” he added. “He could be forced to re-qualify for the PGA Tour (his 5-year exemption for winning the PGA Championship for majors may stand, but not for the PGA Tour).
“There could be limited season eligibility and/or a suspension tied to a prior contractual breach. Players who remained on the PGA Tour paid a price. They had to absorb uncertainty, play on weaker courses, take on reputational risks and take on greater responsibility for protecting the tour’s continuity.”
Ultimately, Chamblee wrote that the sanction would not be about punishing anyone, but rather about the consequences of sending a ripple effect through the sport and protecting the PGA Tour.
“It’s about whether the PGA Tour believes commitments mean anything. If elite players can destabilize the system, take guaranteed money, and then instantly return because they are popular or successful, the message is that the rules apply only to the expendable,” Chamblee wrote.
“If excellence alone erases consequences, then the PGA Tour ceases to be a meritocracy and becomes a marketplace of convenience. Great players certainly deserve respect, but institutions deserve protection.”
Brooks Koepka plays a shot from a bunker on the second hole during the second round of the US Open golf tournament on June 13, 2025. (Charles LeClaire/Image Images)
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LIV Golf said Koepka was leaving the series to prioritize his “family’s needs and stay closer to home.”
