NEWS Brooks Koepka Back on PGA Tour?

[MikeG]

I don't think any kid today dreams of playing on LIV.

Domestically maybe, but globally and since LIV was started, you have a lot of kids that dream of the life changing money LIV offers and is easier to obtain than the PGAT status.

There is irony in that every LDSer out there said Brooks didnt matter.
Now all of the sudden he does.

This is what I am waiting to see walked back and explained. Because all we heard was that LIV stole players past their prime, and some who never had a prime outside of Bryon and Rahm.

Legitimate question - How many LIV players do you think could keep a PGAT card at the end of the 2026 season? This should scare the pros at the bottom of the standings.

The top 10 (season ratings from 2025) in LIV - Rahm, Niemann, Bryson, Muñoz, Burmester, Gooch, Reed, Ortiz, Garcia, Puig.
Young stars in the making - McKibbin, Surrat

Now that is not including Bubba, Phil, DJ, Wolff, Louis, so on and so forth.

I legitimately think at least 20 LIV golfers could come in and keep their cards and take spots from current players. If the dam is about to break then a lot of golfers will be out of a job on the PGAT.

If the tour expands the "entry criteria" and allows non major winners, you've got some nervous players at the bottom of the rankings freaking out.

I don't.

They dream of winning majors and tournaments.

the PGAT doesn't run the majors, so those can be attained without PGAT status. Also I am not sure kids are growing up dreaming about winning the John Deere Classic.

 

[smgoldstein]

Again, GLOBALLY.

I'm sure a top ranked junior in Ireland, Scotland or Australia dreams of winning the Open Championship instead of the money that goes along with winning a LIV SIngapore event.

 

[Hawkins]

The Tour wants to entice recent stars back, but not open the door to just anyone with a previous tour card, which IMO doesn't open any doors for anyone currently to leave outside of a few players which I don't think would anyway. If someone like Rory, Scottie, Xander, or JT would leave, it's a different story. But until that happens the Tour needed to do this.

And now they can do it all after Monahan kicked the curb and can basically blame it all on "past leadership".

However it happened, however it works out, the Tour needed to tuck tail and turn the other way anyway. We can all sit here and sh** on the tour for how they have handled everything because a few top players left, and then sh** on them again to do something about it...but in the end as people watching and not making money off the tour, this is better.

Amen!

 

[MikeG]

One good thing is that Srixon should get a nice bump and I am all here for them getting the boost for the brand

 

[JB]

Look at Elvis Smylie. LIV matters in Australia and they got the biggest prospect they’ve had from there in years as a result.

For sure. I mean look at McKibbin? He was the number one amateur in the world and had his choice.
He chose LIV and the larger purses and money.

 

[CBaker]

Legitimate question - How many LIV players do you think could keep a PGAT card at the end of the 2026 season? This should scare the pros at the bottom of the standings.

The top 10 (season ratings from 2025) in LIV - Rahm, Niemann, Bryson, Muñoz, Burmester, Gooch, Reed, Ortiz, Garcia, Puig.
Young stars in the making - McKibbin, Surrat

Now that is not including Bubba, Phil, DJ, Wolff, Louis, so on and so forth.

I legitimately think at least 20 LIV golfers could come in and keep their cards and take spots from current players. If the dam is about to break then a lot of golfers will be out of a job on the PGAT.

You could argue they wouldn't have had a job to begin with anyway at that point and should be lucky those people left for the time they did.

 

[subcrazy]

I dont think the tour caved at all. I think they viewed this is an opportunity to get all the big names back if they so choose but at a steep cost to the player and it only applies to basically 5 guys who are major winners. If those big names come back then what is LIV left with? A bunch of smaller names, guys who are washed or guys who never got over the hump in Niemann

 

[CoupleQuads]

Go to a high school match, AJGA event, NCAA event etc. and ask what they dream of. To a man they will say I want to win the Masters, US Open and be #1 in the world.

But you could also say take a look at how many young Australians, Koreans and Thai players tried to qualify for the upcoming LIV season and notice that not everyone cares about being on the PGA tour. On the other side of the world LIV is definitely attractive to young pro golfers.

 

[smgoldstein]

Also I am not sure kids are growing up dreaming about winning the John Deere Classic.

I agree there. But they also don't dream of winning the LIV Mexico City event either.

 

[JB]

I'm sure a top ranked junior in Ireland, Scotland or Australia dreams of winning the Open Championship instead of the money that goes along with winning a LIV SIngapore event.

Then explain one of the top ranked amateurs in the world choosing LIV over the PGA Tour when he had the choice between the two?
It literally just happened last year. TM chose LIV, despite Rory even trying to talk him out of it.

 

[JW Smoove]

To take this one step further, anyone (other than me) wonder if this was not a 'colluded' event - I mean, seeing how this all played out, I believe Koepka went to the PGA leadership and gave them a heads up and this was all ready to go as soon as the ink dried - I can't believe he'd walk away with any uncertainty - I don't think any seasoned veteran would leave it to chance.

If true it gave the tour leadership plenty of time to come up with the LIV killing 'penalty.'

 

[MikeG]

I agree there. But they also don't dream of winning the LIV Mexico City event either.

To be fair LIV is only a few years old, so hard for any kid to be "dreaming", but don't discount Latin America or any other country's kids for seeing LIV and wanting a piece of that

 

[Wildcat]

But you could also say take a look at how many young Australians, Koreans and Thai players tried to qualify for the upcoming LIV season and notice that not everyone cares about being on the PGA tour. On the other side of the world LIV is definitely attractive to young pro golfers.

Yes. But I would also say that Brooks didn't enjoy the travel to those places and didn't seem to enjoy owning a team (not sure on the latter).

 

[smgoldstein]

Then explain the top ranked amateur in the world choosing LIV over the PGA Tour when he had the choice between the two?
It literally just happened last year. TM chose LIV, despite Rory even trying to talk him out of it.

Easy to explain. He chose the money-and that is his choice to do.

 

[JB]

Easy to explain. He chose the money-and that is his choice to do.

That is literally what I said.
Globally some young players dream of playing for the largest purses in the world.
Its not debatable. It has already happened.

 

[CBaker]

To be fair LIV is only a few years old, so hard for any kid to be "dreaming", but don't discount Latin America or any other country's kids for seeing LIV and wanting a piece of that

Isn't LIV just the path of least resistance to money anyway if you can get to that point? I fully get it. And LIV has done a lot to make sure it's an international thing, because it's backed and funded by international money more directly. It's not a hard idea to get on why international players would be drawn to it.

 

[Bernoulli]

For sure. I mean look at McKibbin? He was the number one amateur in the world and had his choice.
He chose LIV and the larger purses and money.

Not every golfer wants to play in the US on the PGA Tour. To think otherwise is ludicrous.

 

[smgoldstein]

Globally some young players dream of playing for the largest purses in the world.

I guess my issue is more of playing for money versus playing for titles.

 

[MikeG]

Isn't LIV just the path of least resistance to money anyway if you can get to that point? I fully get it. And LIV has done a lot to make sure it's an international thing, because it's backed and funded by international money more directly. It's not a hard idea to get on why international players would be drawn to it.

I'm not sure it's a path of least resistance because they just held a qualification tournament for wild card spots that had players from all around wanting to try and nothing was guaranteed.

I just think LIV offers something internationally that the PGAT doesn't and shouldn't be discounted as a money grab, because in the end, as much as the pros say they "love this game" I highly doubt any play for free or a reduced salary. IT's about the money and always will be when elite athletes are in a position to be compensated for their talents.

 

[JB]

I guess my issue is more of playing for money versus playing for titles.

There isnt a guy out there willing to play for free.
They are all playing for money.
If they weren't, people wouldnt be up in arms about players going back and forth to various tours or even care about another golf league, it has no impact on them winning titles.

 

[JuicyJ]

Absolute crazy talk.
Thats what we as fans want them to be dreaming of.

I agree with him. Sure everyone wants to be rich and famous but golfers dream of Green jackets and claret jugs, just like baseball players grow up dreaming of playing in Wrigley&Fenway. Not playing in LIV golf Mayakoba or playing for the Hanoi Hamsters respectfully.

 

[e1iterate]

Brooks confirmed on his instagram. Love this.

 

[PhillyV]

I genuinely want to know what they will do with Wesley Bryan who didn't even play on LIV just did some youtube thing

“Case by case basis”

Small potatoes

 

[echico]

I agree with him. Sure everyone wants to be rich and famous but golfers dream of Green jackets and claret jugs, just like baseball players grow up dreaming of playing in Wrigley&Fenway. Not playing in LIV golf Mayakoba or playing for the Hanoi Hamsters respectfully.

What comes with winning a major? A paycheck!

 

[smgoldstein]

There isnt a guy out there willing to play for free.
They are all playing for money.

Sure-they are playing for money. Even the college kids are with NIL deals. I guess it comes down to where do you prioritize money. Is it the first thing on the list or second or third. They each make their own decision on what is important to them-and that is their choice.