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Legendary golfer Tom Watson offered a blunt 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 a year left on his contract with the Saudi-backed circuit.
Koepka applied for reinstatement to the PGA Tour and was quickly approved under the tour’s new Returning Member Program. Watson, a two-time Masters champion who attended Thursday morning’s ceremonial tee-off at Augusta National, expressed strong criticism of the process.
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Brooks Koepka of the United States reacts to the fifth green during the third round of the 2026 Valspar Championship on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club on March 21, 2026 in Palm Harbor, Fla. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)
“The tour made a decision to renege on what they promised when the players left for LIV. They felt the compensation he has paid is good enough,” Watson said at the 90th edition of the Masters.
Watson then laid out what he thinks should happen going forward.
“I thought the LIV players when they left should be banned for life. If I was commissioner, that’s what I would do. I would say if you finish 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 for a year.”
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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 my return to the PGA Tour,” Koepka said in a statement sent to X on Jan. 12.
“Being closer to home and spending more time with my family makes this opportunity especially meaningful to me. I believe in where the PGA Tour is headed with new leadership, new investors and an equity program that gives players meaningful ownership.”
“I also understand that there are financial penalties associated with this decision and I accept them.”
He agreed to five years in the player equity program, a penalty of up to $85 million, according to tour chief Brian Rolapp. The professional golfer 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 at Oakmont Country Club on June 14, 2025 in Oakmont, Pa. (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 allegedly passed on financially advantageous LIV deals, said Koepka’s move left them conflicted.
Matsuyama told Golf Digest Japan he was “shocked” by Koepka’s return, adding that he respected the decision but was disheartened by what he saw as a lack of communication from the tour.
Watson joined the PGA Tour in 1971 and won eight majors during his storied career.
Tom Watson smiles as he walks past the Claret Jug on the first tee during the Celebration of Champions Challenge during practice for The 150th Open Championship at The Old Course at St. Andrews on July 11, 2022 in St. Andrews, Scotland. (Keyur Khamar/PGA Tour)
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He also suggested that LIV departures created a fundamental breach of the sport’s core principles.
“When the players left, they violated the No. 1 rule that we really had out here, which is to protect the sponsors,” he said. “Sponsors need players. They need the names to promote their tournaments.
“If the players play wherever they want to play without a conflicting event rule — where you would have to seek permission from the PGA Tour to play in a tournament opposite a PGA Tour tournament — the sponsors would be hurt by that. I think we all understood that.
“When the players left for LIV, I think it was basically over. They chose to go for the money, which is fine. But coming back to the tour, I thought, was a nonstarter. But apparently it’s not.”
Watson last played competitively at the 2019 Senior Open Championship and continues as an honorary starter to open the Masters for the fifth consecutive year.
