Brooks Koepka has announced his departure from LIV Golf after three years with the Saudi-backed series, with a potential return to the PGA Tour now on the cards
Rory McIlroy has continued to express his respect for Brooks Koepka as the five-time major champion potentially prepares for a return to the PGA Tour. The American golfer revealed on Tuesday his surprising LIV Golf exit after three years with the Saudi-backed circuit.
The 35 year old Koepka was among several high-profile names who contributed to the split within golf when he chose to join LIV during the summer of 2022. However, he won’t be competing under their banner in 2026 following a statement issued by his representatives.
It read: “Family has always guided Brooks’ decisions, and he feels this is the right moment to spend more time at home. Brooks remains passionate about the game of golf.”
Koepka’s unexpected departure now paves the way for a potential PGA Tour comeback, though it won’t be an immediate return to competition for the Florida-born golfer.
Currently, Koepka will not be permitted to compete on the PGA Tour until August, which would represent a year since his final LIV appearance. The months-long ban stems from the Tour having previously handed out year-long suspensions to players who participated on the breakaway circuit, reports the Mirror.
Nevertheless, exemptions still exist for Koepka to take part in the four major championships as well as featuring on the DP World Tour. A comeback to the Tour where he initially established himself is one that could potentially receive backing from McIlroy, who has maintained a strong relationship with his American colleague over the years.
Congratulating Koepka
Despite finding himself at the heart of the rivalry between the tours in 2023, the Northern Irishman still made a point of congratulating Brooks Koepka after his third PGA Championship victory. The reigning Masters champion was captured on Netflix’s Full Swing documentary praising the then-LIV golfer in the car park.
McIlroy could be heard calling out: “Brooks! Brooks! I am really happy for you.”
The two shared a warm embrace before the American told his fellow five-time major champion: “I’ll give you a shout man!”.
Friendship explanation
With just a year separating them in age, Koepka has acknowledged that McIlroy made his breakthrough in golf earlier. The American revealed last year that he greatly respected McIlroy whilst watching him secure his initial major titles.
Koepka said: “I think, especially when I was first coming up, from ’12 to ’16, obviously I don’t want to say ‘idolised,’ that would be the wrong word. But I looked up to him a little bit.”
He discussed how their relationship has evolved since then, adding: “But then our friendship has just developed over the years.
“I’ve enjoyed playing with him, playing against him. I’m pretty sure he’s done the same thing. But it’s a lot of fun, man. We practice at the same place. Live in the same area. How could you not?”.
Training together
Despite the sport being divided, McIlroy and Koepka didn’t shy away from publicly acknowledging their friendship. After a practice round together at the 2023 Masters, McIlroy, aged 36, commented: “It’s OK to get on with Brooks and DJ [Dustin Johnson] and maybe not get on with some other guys that went to it.”
Having not played together for a year, Koepka, who considers McIlroy a friend, expressed his enjoyment of sharing the green with him again. “It’s more just two friends just wanting to play together,” the American stated.
“I guess you could look at it that way. But yeah, I just wanted to play with him, just compare my game. I know he’s been playing well. So it was good for me to see, and I think it’s fun to be able to go play with these guys. We haven’t played with these guys in a long time, so just getting out to go play with them has been nice because it’s been a lot of just seeing everybody.”
Admission of Admiration
Both golfers have achieved significant success in the sport, but there was a time when McIlroy confessed that he used Koepka’s game as a benchmark to reclaim his position at the top of golf. It was during their face-off at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational in 2019 that the Northern Irishman reached this conclusion.
McIlroy went into the fourth round of the Memphis tournament with a slim one-shot lead over Koepka, but this was swiftly overturned as Koepka shot a 65, leaving McIlroy trailing with a score of 71. Acknowledging his rival’s supremacy, the 36 year old golfer conceded that he needs to adopt some of his competitor’s traits.
In his own words, McIlroy stated: “Brooks went out there in Memphis and shot 65 and just basically dominated the tournament, dominated me. And I realised if I want to become the dominant player in the world again, I need to be more like that.”
