Brooks Koepka defecting from LIV Golf signals order returning to PGA Tour

Golf’s civil war is coming to an end. Brooks Koepka is rejoining the PGA Tour.

In a historic decision, Koepka is the first star player to defect from LIV Golf, the rogue startup league bankrolled by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund. Koepka has already committed to play in the 2026 WM Phoenix Open and will be a marquee attraction in North Scottsdale, where the largest and most boisterous galleries in golf will give the PGA Tour an accurate barometer of how the public views this sudden peace accord.

I’m guessing Koepka gets a hero’s welcome.

This development is actually years in the making. LIV Golf has done great damage to the PGA Tour while doing little to rebrand or enhance the entertainment value of professional golf. To the contrary, history will eventually frame Phil Mickelson as one of the biggest traitors in history, a man who could’ve been the second coming of Arnold Palmer and celebrated for a lifetime, only to open the floodgates for money-grubbing defectors and a rival tour craving legitimacy.

The reassimilation of former stars has been a very touchy issue on Tour, and the thorniest of subjects among the rank-and-file, many of whom will be appalled by the easy re-entry of Koepka. But the Tour has very clear goals. They structured their “Returning Member Program” to provide a pathway for a very small number of players, none of them named Mickelson.

Deep down, they only want three: Koepka, Jon Rahm, and Bryson DeChambeau.

Koepka is the perfect test case. He is a five-time major championship winner. He’s a two-time champion of the WM Phoenix Open. His steely nerve on the biggest of stages has earned him great credibility inside the ropes and lasting popularity among golf fans. His rugged demeanor has always transcended golf, appealing to diehard sports fans. I believe his return will be celebrated, just as he has always celebrated the raucous crowds of the Phoenix Open.

Rahm has the same opportunity. He is an ASU legend, and by definition, a former WM Phoenix Open fan favorite. He was the last guy you thought would abandon his pursuit of greatness for blood money. He seems to have been burdened with deep regret ever since his departure, aware of the damage he has done to his own legacy. He, too, will be forgiven.

DeChambeau is the big question mark. He can also return to the PGA Tour, effectively putting a stake in the coffin of LIV Golf. Or he can leverage his immense value and reshape LIV Golf on his terms and conditions, likely becoming the richest golfer in the history of the sport. I’m betting on the latter.

Either way, let’s celebrate the small victories. In a world spinning off its axis, a sense of order might be returning to the PGA Tour.

Reach Bickley at dbickley@arizonasports.com. Listen to Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station. 

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