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Brooks Koepka’s decision to leave LIV Golf several years after becoming one of the notable faces to join the renegade league sent shockwaves through the sport this week.
Koepka played on the LIV Golf Series for more than three seasons, winning five events during that span and taking home the PGA Championship in 2023.
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Brooks Koepka of Smash GC plays his shot from the third tee during the quarterfinals of the LIV Golf Michigan Team Championship at The Cardinal at Saint John’s Resort on August 22, 2025. (Aaron Doster/Imagn Images)
Golf commentator Brandel Chamblee offered his two cents on fans clamoring for Koepka to return to the PGA Tour on Friday, writing in a post on X that he disagreed with the idea.
“I definitely disagree with this,” he wrote. “Allowing Brooks Koepka to return to the PGA Tour without consequence would undermine the very meritocratic basis that makes the PGA Tour legitimate — not because of who he is, but because of what his return signals.”
Chamblee said there should be some sort of punishment for Koepka or anyone else who defected to the league, which is backed by the Saudi Arabian government.
“LIV not only offered an alternative league, it fractured fields, diluted competitive significance, sparked legal warfare, undermined sponsorship stability and forced structural changes across all of professional golf,” he continued. “Koepka was not a passive spectator, he was a marquee credential.
“You don’t punish him for being influential, but you can’t pretend his influence didn’t matter. His credibility made LIV viable, his stature normalized defection, and his success (especially after joining LIV) validated the disruption.”
Brooks Koepka of the United States acknowledges the crowd on the 5th green during the first round of the British Open golf championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison, File)
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Chamblee suggested a penalty would be sufficient and being reintegrated into the PGA Tour would be the route officials should take.
“A punishment would not be a punishment so much as it would be a recognition of choice, and the consequence need not be punishment to be meaningful,” he added. “He could be forced to re-qualify for the PGA Tour (his 5-year exemption from winning the PGA Championship for majors may apply, but not for the PGA Tour).
“He could have limited season eligibility and/or a suspension tied to past contract violations. The players who stayed on the PGA Tour paid a price. They had to absorb the uncertainty, play weaker courses, take on reputational risk and take on greater responsibility to protect the continuity of the tour.”
Ultimately, Chamblee wrote that the punishment would not be about punishing anyone, but rather the consequences to send a ripple effect through the sport and protect the PGA Tour.
“It’s about whether the PGA Tour believes commitments matter. If elite players can destabilize the system, take guaranteed money and then come right back because they’re popular or successful, the message is that the rules only apply to the expendable,” Chamblee wrote.
“If excellence alone erases consequence, the PGA Tour ceases to be a meritocracy and becomes a marketplace of convenience. Great players certainly deserve respect, but institutions deserve protection.”
Brooks Koepka plays a shot from a bunker on the second hole during the second round of the US Open golf tournament on June 13, 2025. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
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LIV Golf said Koepka left the series to prioritize “the needs of his family and to be closer to home.”
