Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka continues to play on LIV Golf, but some speculate that he could return to the PGA Tour soon.
By the end of the 2025 golf season, Brooks Koepka will find himself in an unprecedented position: his contract with LIV Golf will have expired, leaving him as a ‘free-agent’ of sorts.
Granted, that could change between now and then. Koepka could sign an extension and remain on the Saudi-backed circuit for years. Then again, rumors about Koepka’s desire to return to the PGA Tour have swirled for months.
Who knows how it will all play out, but Koepka’s comments before this week’s LIV Golf Miami event raised some eyebrows. Unlike Bryson DeChambeau, the reigning U.S. Open champion, who referred to LIV Golf as “we” and “we’re,” Koepka referred to his tour as “they’re.” Perhaps that’s reading too far into it, but Koepka’s tone about LIV differs significantly from DeChambeau’s.
“I think we all hoped it would have been a little bit further along, and that’s no secret,” Koepka said when asked about LIV Golf’s stature in its fourth season.
“No matter where you’re at, you always hope everything is further along. But they’re making progress, and it seems to be going in the right direction.”
Match that to DeChambeau’s comments to the same question:
“It’s still four years in, and we’re working towards what we’ve always believed in this league is this team golf, and we’re still individuals playing stroke play events, but there’s a team component, which is really cool,” DeChambeau said.
“It’s just another business vertical and another opportunity for us. I personally like it. I’m happy with kind of where it’s at. I think there’s always going to be improvements just like any business, just like anything, whatever side you’re on. But there definitely needs to be some continued thought around what LIV Golf is doing for the global game of golf.”
Again, maybe we are reading too far into these comments. But you cannot dismiss the fact that these responses are vastly different: DeChambeau was much more specific and optimistic, and Koepka was way less so, as he even sounded discouraged.
Couple that with the comments he made to The Times of London, and Koepka’s return-to-the-PGA-Tour rumors will go nowhere anytime soon.
“I still have a good relationship with everybody [on the PGA Tour]. There’s a lot of ‘what-ifs’, but I’d be open to playing certain [PGA Tour] events,” Koepka said.
“Like I love [the WM Phoenix Open]. The Cognizant Classic, because it’s my hometown. I’d love to play Dunhill [on the DP World Tour], but if we can’t that’s okay. I’ve made my decision.”
Koepka then said that he still speaks to the PGA Tour’s Commissioner, Jay Monahan, while lauding the work that Scott O’Neill has done so far as LIV Golf’s CEO. O’Neill came on board within the last six months.
He did not say he was open to returning to the tour, but did not rule it out either. Time will tell what happens, as all eyes will be watching to see if he re-signs a contract or not.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
