With the dust settling on his shock LIV exit, Rory McIlroy has some thoughts on where Brooks Koepka could make his next start…
After announcing his bombshell exit from LIV Golf just before Christmas, Brooks Koepka’s next move remains a fascinating unknown.
Koepka stunned the game by bringing his LIV career to a premature end last month, relinquishing his captaincy with the Smash GC team and walking out on his lucrative contract with the breakaway league a year early.
There have long been murmurings since his defection in June 2022 that Koepka was experiencing “buyer’s remorse” and yearning for the spotlight of the PGA Tour, despite winning the 2023 PGA Championship as a LIV player and making over $30 million in on-course earnings.
But not many anticipated that Koepka would turn his back on LIV before his four-year contract was up at the end of this coming season.
In his parting statement, Koepka’s representatives said that he was going to be spending more time at home with his family, but “remains passionate about the game of golf and will keep fans updated on what’s ahead.”
Koepka is yet to divulge his true intentions for 2026, while the PGA Tour released an ambiguous statement immediately after his LIV departure was confirmed.
“Brooks Koepka is a highly accomplished professional, and we wish him and his family continued success,” the statement read. “The PGA Tour continues to offer the best professional golfers the most competitive, challenging and lucrative environment in which to pursue greatness.”
The PGA Tour has suspended players who have competed in LIV events, but it is unclear whether Koepka would need to serve a ban or whether the circuit could bend their rules to welcome back a player of his calibre.
While that thorny issue is being settled, the five-time major champion’s calendar is clear and that has led to speculation about when and where Koepka will make his next start.
It certainly won’t be at LIV’s season-opener in Riyadh in February. And as it stands, he isn’t slated to tee it up at this month’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour, either.
So could Koepka’s return instead come as a fill-in at TGL, the tech-infused golf league co-founded by Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods based near his home in Florida?
After his Boston Common team won their opening match of the second season on Friday, McIlroy was asked whether Koepka would be welcome at TGL.
“I would say that’s up to people that are more powerful and more important than me, but I am one of the founders,” he smirked.
“I would love him to play. If there’s space on a team for Brooks to come and play, it only makes what we’re trying to do stronger. He’s a five-time major champion. He’s been one of the best players of our generation. If he decides it’s something that he wants to do, I’m sure we’ll find a way to include him.”
An appearance for Koepka in the simulator league would seemingly not be without its complications either. The PGA Tour part owns TGL and no LIV player has yet taken part. Tyrrell Hatton was replaced on McIlroy’s team when he joined Jon Rahm on LIV two years ago.
McIlroy, meanwhile, also addressed Koepka’s potential return to the PGA Tour.
“Does it make sense if Brooks wanted to play the PGA Tour again to get him back as soon as possible? Absolutely,” the Masters champion told the Palm Beach Post. “What Brooks has done in the game of golf, it would be good for everyone to have him back.
“It’s hard [because] you can’t treat one person differently than you treat others. And as much as the Tour would like to treat Brooks differently, it sets a legal precedent, because of the lawsuits that have been going on and everything else behind the scenes.
“He’s still exempt on Tour because of his major wins. That’s not the hurdle. The hurdle is how they have treated others that have tried to come back, serve suspensions, or whatever it is. That’s the difficult thing.”