Penton: Koepka alone in return to PGA Tour
By Bruce Penton
What could have been a mad dash by some of the greatest golfers in the world from the upstart LIV tour back to the PGA Tour turned out to be hardly a trickle. Does one even count as a trickle?
Brooks Koepka, a five-time major champion who is one of a handful of big names who took the Saudi Arabian money and fled the PGA Tour a couple of years ago, had buyer’s remorse in December and announced to the world he was leaving LIV.
Paul Simon wrote in the 1970s that there are 50 ways to leave your lover, but would there be a few more ways for the LIVers to leave the LIV? The PGA Tour brass wanted to find out, so they hastily established what they called the “Returning Member Program” which specifically targeted the cream of the LIV crop — Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cam Smith. Criteria set out by the PGA said the program was open only to major champions or Players’ champs who won their titles between the years of 2022 and 2025. Those four aforementioned players all fit the criteria while everyone else — Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia and others — didn’t fit the qualifying terms, nor did they have the star power sought by the PGA Tour. They therefore didn’t qualify for return to the bright lights of what is indisputably the best pro tour in the world.
Given a deadline of Feb. 2 to accept the PGA Tour’s offer, DeChambeau, Rahm and Smith all immediately pledged their fealty to LIV and left Koepka as the lone returnee. SI.com said Smith was committed to his all-Australian team on LIV while Rahm’s contract with the breakaway tour runs through 2027. DeChambeau is a superstar in the YouTube golf world and has earning power from that source potentially greater than what he could accumulate playing on regular tours.
New PGA Tour commissioner Brian Rolapp said there was no guarantee the Tour would leave the return window open forever. “Once the door closes, there is no promise that this path will be available again,” said Rolapp.
Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour didn’t come without some financial pain. He will have to make a $5 million charitable donation; he won’t be eligible for the 2026 Fed-Ex Cup $100 million bonus program; he will not be able to play in the Tour’s big-money signature events in 2026; and he will will not be able to earn any money from the Player Equity Program for five years. That last condition could reportedly be worth up to $80 million.
“The penalty is significant, but I understand why they’ve done it. It hurts but it’s supposed to,” Koepka told Golfweek. “I’ve got a lot of work to do with the players and I want to do that one-on-one. I want to have those conversations, but behind closed doors.”
Initial reports said the majority of PGA Tour players are glad to have Koepka back but while LIV will survive, it’s more irrelevant than ever without Koepka.
Cathal Kelly of the Globe and Mail, on Brooks Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour: “You almost feel sorry for the Saudis. They made Koepka monstrously rich, and in return he shanked them. But when you pay mercenary money, you get mercenaries.”
Comedy guy Torben Rolfsen of Vancouver: “Senators’ captain Brady Tkachuk says he’s giving up fighting after undergoing thumb surgery. Oh well, he’ll always have his stick.”
Snipped from Jack Finarelli’s sportscurmudgeon.com: “Jake Gaither, longtime head coach at Florida A and M, on his ideal defensive player: ‘He should be agile, mobile and hostile.’”
David Aldridge of The Athletic, on AI challenges facing sports journalism: “You don’t get rich being a reporter, but you can make a decent buck. In contrast, ChatGPT can write a decent paragraph or two, for free, and never complains about having to fly Southwest to get to Cleveland.”
Columnist Norman Chad: “Enough with Joey Chestnut. Now he’s going for the world bagel eating championship. He’s just stuffing wieners and bagels down his throat while the world burns.”
Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, about Flames’ Jonathan Huberdeau, who had 21 points in 45 games with the Flames through Jan. 24: “Hard to believe, but just four years ago, Huberdeau had 115 points in a season. Honest.”
Steve Simmons again: "Without Bo Bichette, the Blue Jays still need one solid bat, one starting pitcher, one high-leverage relief pitcher and more affordable tickets.”
Headline at theonion.com: “Groundskeeper Unsure What To Do With Unconscious Player Left In Medical Tent”
From Fox 29 in Philadelphia: “Flyers’ mascot Gritty paid $250,000 per year, only $3,000 less than the Pennsylvania governor.”
Another one from Torben Rolfsen: “TV networks are courting former Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. Fox would like him for their NFL studio show while NBC is considering him for a reboot of Different Strokes.”
Care to comment? Email brucepenton2003@yahoo.ca