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Legendary golfer Tom Watson offered a blunt take 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 roughly one year remaining on his contract with the Saudi-backed circuit.
Koepka applied for PGA Tour reinstatement and quickly gained approval under the tour’s new Returning Member Program. Watson, a two-time Masters champion who participated in Thursday morning’s ceremonial tee off at Augusta National, voiced strong criticism about the process.
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Brooks Koepka of the United States reacts on the fifth green during the third round of the Valspar Championship 2026 at Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club on March 21, 2026 in Palm Harbor, Florida. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)
“The Tour made a decision to renege on what they promised when the players left for LIV. They felt that the compensation that he’s paid is good enough,” Watson said at the 90th edition of the Masters.
Watson then laid out what he believes should happen going forward.
“I thought the LIV players, when they left, they were supposed to be banned for life. If I was commissioner, that’s what I would do. I’d say if you’re finished with your contract with LIV Golf, if you want to play the PGA Tour again, you come back, and you must play the Korn Ferry Tour for a year to qualify for it.”
BROOKS KOEPKA’S ATTORNEY GIVES INSIDE LOOK INTO GOLFER’S LIV DEPARTURE, RETURN TO PGA TOUR
Koepka addressed his return to the PGA Tour in a post on social media.
“When I was a child, I always dreamed about competing on the PGA Tour, and I am just as excited today to announce that I am returning to the PGA Tour,” Koepka said in a statement posted to X on Jan. 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 meaningful ownership stake.”
“I also understand there are financial penalties associated with this decision, and I accept those,” his statement continued.
He agreed to five years in the player equity program — a penalty worth up to $85 million, according to the tour’s CEO Brian Rolapp. The pro golfer also committed to $5 million in charity donations and will have to earn his way into 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 golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Saturday, 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 passed on financially advantageous LIV deals, said Koepka’s move left them conflicted.
Matsuyama told Golf Digest Japan he was “shocked” by Koepka’s return, adding that he respected the decision but was discouraged by what he saw as a lack of communication from the tour.
Watson joined the PGA Tour in 1971, winning eight major during his storied career.
Tom Watson smiles as he walks past 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 defections created a fundamental breach of the sport’s core principles.
“When the players left, they violated the No. 1 rule that we really had out here, which is to protect the sponsors,” he said. “Sponsors need players. They need the names to be able to promote their tournaments. If the players play wherever they want to play without a conflicting-event rule — where you had to seek the permission of the PGA Tour to play in a tournament opposite of a PGA Tour tournament — the sponsors would be hurt by that. I think we all understood that.
“When the players left for LIV, I think it was basically over. They chose to go for the money, which is fine. But to return to the tour, I thought, was a nonstarter. But apparently it’s not.”
Watson last played competitively at the 2019 Senior Open Championship and continues as an honorary starter to open the Masters for a fifth consecutive year.
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