Koepka is back on the PGA Tour in this week’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. What drove his decision to return?
Brooks Koepka speaks during a press conference ahead of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026 in San Diego, California. Brooks Koepka left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf four years ago, citing his desire for a reduced playing schedule, more time with his family and a dream to grow the game.
Koepka, 35, was among the more accomplished players on tour, winning five major championships and nine tour titles and rising to No. 1 in the world rankings before moving to LIV in June of 2022. Koepka is back on the PGA Tour in this week’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. So what drove his decision to return? “It’s what was best for me and my family,” Koepka said Tuesday morning during a 25-minute, 40-question press conference televised live by Golf Channel. “Just my family. A lot’s gone on over the past five, six months with my family. That played a big role into coming back.” Koepka has played in majors since joining LIV, winning the 2023 PGA Championship, but this week marks his first regular event since playing in the 2022 Valspar Championship. Koepka admitted he’s “definitely a little bit more nervous this week just coming back.” The tournament runs Thursday through Sunday at Torrey Pines. “But it feels good,” he said. “I’m super grateful to be back. Yeah, there’s a lot of guys I don’t know over the past, I guess, three-and-a-half years. There’s a lot of new faces, but excited to meet those guys and feel like I’m part of the tour. … I was more excited just to go hit putts and just feel like I’m back in some kind of normalcy. That’s where I’m most comfortable, right?” Said Farmers Insurance Open CEO Marty Gorsich: “I love that he’s starting it out here in San Diego, starting the season off with us. It means a lot. And the fans have really responded. A lot of interest. ESPN’s news, that they’re going to cover . It’s just one more piece of buzz.” Koepka has not fared well at the Farmers, missing the cut three of the four times he has competed, including in 2022. He made it to the weekend in 2015, finishing tied for 41st. Brooks Koepka studies the lie on the second green during the third round of the U.S. Open Golf Championship, Saturday, June 19, 2021, at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego. There is a good memory here for Koepka, however. He tied for fourth place in the 2021 U.S. Open won by Jon Rahm at Torrey Pines. Koepka is paired in the first two rounds of the Farmers with former champion Max Homa and Ludvig Aberg, who won the Genesis Invitational last year at Torrey Pines. They tee off in Thursday’s opening round at 9:32 a.m. on No. 1 South.“Maybe I’m a little nervous about that as well, just to see how, I guess, how the fans respond to it,” Koepka said. “I hope that they’re excited. I hope that they’re happy that I’m out here. You know, hopefully that goes . At least the conversations I’ve had with players that they’re excited that I’m back and happy to see me play.” Koepka predicted someone will “sell out” and join LIV four months before he left the tour, and he took some criticism at the time. There are those among his peers who are bothered by his return, but the response appears to be largely positive. “I’m looking forward to all those conversations, right?” Koepka said. “Not everybody’s going to have the same opinion. That’s the exciting part about this, right? There are some guys that are happy to see me back and some guys that , and I understand that. “Like I said, that will be the fun part of having those conversations. Some of them might be tougher than others, but at the same time it’s the opportunity I was given … I wasn’t just going to not play. If they gave me an opportunity to play, I wanted to play.” Brooks Koepka hits from a bunker on the second hole during the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Friday, June 13, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. “Circumstances kind of changed in my family a little bit,” said Koepka, who has a 2 1/2-year-old son. “Then that’s when I guess things started to change and evolve and just started to have those conversations of what’s best for my family. So we took it from there.”“They understood the situation that I was in,” he said. Asked if there were any financial considerations required to get out of the contract, Koepka said, “No, I’m super grateful for , the way they handled things. I’d like to keep that all internal. They were great to deal with and I’m just happy and fortunate enough to be out here now.”“I’ve always had a good relationship with Tiger,” he said. “I felt like that was — that was what I wanted to do. … Once I had the opportunity to, I guess, get reinstated on PGA Tour, it was exciting and kind of really didn’t know what to do. That was the first person that kind of came to mind.” Koepka was reinstated on the tour two weeks ago through the new Returning Member Program that provides players “who have achieved elite levels of performance an alternative path back to the highest tier of men’s professional golf.” Among the conditions for Koepka’s return is making a $5 million donation to charity and an agreement that he will not receive FedEx Cup bonus money in 2026. He also will not be eligible to earn equity from the tour’s Player Equity Program, which, according to Golf Digest, could cost him $50 to $80 million. Koepka has nearly $44 million in PGA Tour earnings. That’s a substantial sum, but just a fraction of what he was paid by LIV. Koepka made an estimated $150 to $165 million from LIV — he collected $20 million for his five victories — including a signing bonus in excess of $100 million.Officials believe San Diego is well positioned as cities compete for dwindling state homeless dollars At 82, retired teacher and former marathon runner has discovered his next chapter doesn’t require a busy social calendar At 82, retired teacher and former marathon runner has discovered his next chapter doesn’t require a busy social calendarFree rent, few takers: Despite incentives, labs aren’t taking space in San Diego Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner launches 13th roundtrip between San Diego and Los Angeles, with plans to expand still morePadres’ 2026 promotional schedule includes bobbleheads, moreAnti-sex trafficking operation nets 105 arrests in San Diego targeting would-be buyers
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