The 15-time Major winner reveals his role in allowing the former LIV Golf star to avoid a ban and play the Farmers Insurance Open later this month
Tiger Woods has revealed his role in the return of Brooks Koepka to the PGA Tour – and called the five-time Major winners a “top-three-of-his-generation player”. But the American legend gave no clue to his return to golf at the age of 50.
Woods said Koepka wrote to the PGA Tour on December 23 – the same day he announced he was leaving LIV Golf with a year left on his contract.
The 2023 US PGA winner will be allowed to return at the Farmers Insurance Open later this month under the Return Members Program for big-name stars.
Woods has been a vocal critic of LIV Golf – and now chairs the PGA Tour’s Future Competition Committee and also is a member of the PGA Tour policy board.
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The 15-time Major winner said: “We took that letter and then took it to both boards and tried to implement a plan that would be fair and adequate, that justifies Brooks’ time away from our tour, the penalties served, the fines if necessary, what the integration would look like on our tour, and obviously the bonus payouts, yes or no.
“We had lots of subsequent meetings, worked through the holidays. There was no days off. We just worked through it day after day after day, and we came out with a plan that we unveiled.”
“We get a probably top-three-of-his-generation player back that went to another tour, played over there, and was adamant about coming back here and got out early to come back.
“That says a lot about the PGA Tour, where we’re headed, what we have done, what we accomplished and the players who have stayed and who have supported the Tour. Having another world-class player that these guys are going to try and beat, that’s what the fans demanded. That’s what the fans wanted for our fan initiative program, and I think we’ve addressed that.
“It’s incredible for all the fans”The fan initiative program that we did last year, what they wanted, they want to see the best play against the best. And for Brooks to want to come back, a year early, and he was able to do that.”
Koepka won four Majors in eight starts from the 2017 US Open – and has the same number as Masters champion and one more than world No.1 Scottie Scheffler.
To avoid a one-year ban, Koepka agreed to make a $5m donation to charity and be excluded from the Player Equity Program for the next five years. The PGA Tour estimate that will cost him $50-85m.
“There’s some punitive damages there, but it’s a meritocracy; that’s what makes our game so great,” Wood added. “He is going to play full-field events, and he has the ability to earn his way up to signature events. If he’s good, he’s good. If he plays great, he plays great. If he wins tournaments, he wins tournaments. There’s no reason why we should hold him back.”
Three other LIV stars – Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cam Smith – can also return to the PGA Tour before February 2 under the Returning Members Program. All three said they would remain this season at the LIV Media day.
Woods said: “Actually the CEO is Brian (Rolapp), so they need to talk to Brian, need to write a letter to (PGA Tour commissioner) Jay (Monaghan) and Brian to get the ball rolling.”
Woods underwent another back surgery – thought to be his seventh – in October to replace a disc in his lower back.
Speaking at the TGL match featuring his Jupiter Links team against New York, he reported he is only able to hit short and mid-irons and has no return date. He last played at the 2024 Open.
“Whenever that time comes when I start hitting drivers and I start playing at home and start doing all the different things, I will have been away from the game for a year and a half,” said Woods. “So I will be very rusty. And so there’s a lot that goes into it, so my prep is going to have to be a little bit different from my other procedures I’ve had in the past. I’ve had to stay a lot more patient with myself. I get sore faster, I guess because I’m 50. And that happens.”
