Tom Watson criticizes the PGA Tour for allowing Koepka to return from LIV Golf
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Legendary golfer Tom Watson has given his candid take on the new program that paved the way for Brooks Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour.
Koepka left LIV Golf in December 2025. At the time of his departure, the three-time PGA Championship winner had about one year left on his contract with the Saudi-backed circuit.
Koepka applied for reinstatement on the PGA Tour and quickly received approval under the tour’s new Returning Member program. Watson, a two-time Masters champion who took part in Thursday morning’s event at Augusta National, voiced strong criticism of the process.
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Brooks Koepka of the United States approaches the fifth green in the third round of the 2026 Valspar Championship at the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club on March 21, 2026 in Palm Harbor, Florida. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)
“The Tour made a decision to withdraw from what it had promised when the players went to LIV. They felt that the compensation they paid was not enough,” Watson said at the 90th edition of the Masters.
Watson then lays out what he believes should happen moving forward.
“I thought the LIV players, when they left, should have been banned for life. If I was the commissioner, that’s what I would do. I would say if you’re done with your contract with LIV Golf, if you want to play the PGA Tour again, you come back, and you have to play the Korn Ferry Tour for a year to qualify.”
BROOKS KOEPKA’S ATTORNEY GIVES INSIDE THE GOLFER’S JOURNEY, BACK ON THE PGA TOUR
Koepka talked about his return to the PGA Tour in a post on social media.
“When I was a kid, I always dreamed of competing on the PGA Tour, and I’m just as excited today to announce that I’m returning to the PGA Tour,” Koepka said in a statement sent to X on Jan. 12. “Being close to home and spending more time with my family makes this opportunity especially meaningful for me. I believe that where the PGA Tour is headed, the new program of the PGA Tour gives new players a program with new leadership and ownership of new leadership for e new players to look at a new program that means ownership of e pole.”
“I also understand that there are financial penalties associated with this decision, and I accept them,” continued his statement.
He agreed to five years in the player equity program – a fine that could reach $85 million, according to tour CEO Brian Rolapp. The golf champion has also committed to $5 million in charitable donations and will have to earn his way into the tour’s signature events.
Brooks Koepka reacts after missing a putt on the eighth hole during the third round of the US Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club on Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)
Several LIV golfers – including Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith – turned down the PGA Tour’s controversial offer. Hideki Matsuyama and Wyndham Clark, who reportedly handed LIV lucrative deals, say Koepka’s move has left them at odds.
Matsuyama told Golf Digest Japan he was “shocked” by Koepka’s return, adding that he respected the decision but was disappointed by what he saw as a lack of communication on the tour.
Watson joined the PGA Tour in 1971, winning eight majors during his career.
Tom Watson smiles as he passes the Claret Jug on the first tee during the Festival of Champions Challenge during practice for The 150th Open Championship on the Old Course at St Andrews on July 11, 2022 in St. Andrews. Andrews, Scotland. (Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR)
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He also suggested that LIV’s malfeasance created a fundamental violation of the core principles of the sport.
“When the players left, they broke the number 1 rule that we really had here, which is to protect sponsors,” he said. “Sponsors need players. They need names to be able to advertise their tournaments. If players play wherever they want to play without the conflict of interest rule — where you had to seek permission from the PGA Tour to play in a tournament that’s not a PGA Tour tournament — the sponsors are going to be hurt by that. I think we all understood that.
“When the players went to LIV, I think it was over. They chose to go for money, that’s fine. But going back to the tour, I thought it was a non-starter. But apparently it’s not.”
Watson last played competitively in the 2019 Senior Open Championship and continues as the honorable mention opener for the Masters for the fifth year in a row.
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