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Legendary golfer Tom Watson offered compelling insight into the new program that paved the way for Brooks Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour.
Koepka left LIV Golf in December 2025. At the time of his departure, the three-time PGA Championship winner had about a year left on his contract with the Saudi-backed tour.
Koepka applied to be reinstated by the PGA Tour and quickly gained approval under the tour’s new Returning Member Program. Watson, a two-time Masters champion who participated in Thursday morning’s teeing ceremony at Augusta National, expressed strong criticism of the process.
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Brooks Koepka of the United States reacts on the fifth green during the third round of the 2026 Valspar Championship on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club on March 21, 2026, in Palm Harbor, Florida. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)
“The tour made the decision to renege on what they promised when the players left for LIV. They felt the compensation they paid is good enough,” Watson said at the 90th edition of the Masters.
Watson then laid out what he thinks should happen in the future.
“I thought the LIV players, when they left, were supposed to be banned for life. If I were commissioner, that’s what I would do. I would say if you end your contract with LIV Golf, if you want to play the PGA Tour again, you come back and you have to play the Korn Ferry Tour for a year to qualify.”
BROOKS KOEPKA’S ATTORNEY TAKES AN INSIDE LOOK AT LIV DEL GOLFER’S EXIT AND HER RETURN TO THE PGA TOUR
Koepka addressed his return to the PGA Tour in a social media post.
“As a child, I always dreamed of competing on the PGA Tour, and today I am equally excited to announce that I will be returning to the PGA Tour,” Koepka said in a statement published in X on January 12.
“Being closer to home and spending more time with my family makes this opportunity especially meaningful to me. I believe in where the PGA Tour is headed with new leadership, new investors and an equity program that gives players a significant ownership stake.
“I also understand that there are financial penalties associated with this decision and I accept them.”
He agreed to five years in the player equity program, a fine worth up to $85 million, according to tour executive director Brian Rolapp. The professional golfer also pledged to donate $5 million to charity and will have to earn a spot to participate in the tour’s signature events.
Brooks Koepka reacts after missing a putt on the eighth hole during the third round of the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club on June 14, 2025, in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)
Several LIV golfers, including Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith, rejected the PGA Tour’s controversial offer. Hideki Matsuyama and Wyndham Clark, who reportedly rejected financially advantageous LIV deals, said Koepka’s move left them conflicted.
Matsuyama told Golf Digest Japan that he was “shocked” by Koepka’s return, adding that he respected the decision but was discouraged by what he considered a lack of communication from the tour.
Watson joined the PGA Tour in 1971, winning eight majors during his storied career.
Tom Watson smiles as he passes the Claret Jug on the first tee during the Celebration of Champions Challenge during practice for the 150th Open Championship on the Old Course at St Andrews on July 11, 2022, in St. Andrews, Scotland. (Keyur Khamar/PGA Tour)
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He also suggested that LIV’s defections created a fundamental breach of the sport’s founding principles.
“When the players left, they violated the number one rule that we really had here, which is to protect the sponsors,” he said. “Sponsors need players. They need names to promote their tournaments.
“If players play wherever they want without a conflicting events rule, where you had to seek permission from the PGA Tour to play in a tournament opposite to a PGA Tour tournament, sponsors would be hurt by that. I think we all understand that.
“When the players left for LIV, I think it was basically over. They chose to go for the money, which is fine. But coming back on tour, I thought, was a non-starter. But apparently it’s not.”
Watson last played competitively at the 2019 Senior Open Championship and remains an honorary starter to open the Masters for the fifth consecutive year.
