LIV Golf CEO Does Very Little To Shut Down Major Rumor Involving Brooks Koepka And His Future
Koepka may make a very bold play.
Every offseason since LIV Golf's inaugural season in 2022, it has felt like there have been rumors about players looking to leave the Saudi-backed circuit to return to the PGA Tour. This offseason is no exception, and this time around, the rumor involves five-time major winner Brooks Koepka.
Koepka, who was among the first group of players to sign with LIV Golf, is reportedly coming up on the final year of his contract. While some players, including Dustin Johnson, have been open about re-upping their deals, Koepka hasn't exactly been as transparent.
According to "four golf sources" who spoke with Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal, there is "a chance" that Koepka may opt to sit out the 2026 LIV season and use it as a gap year to serve out a suspected 12-month PGA Tour suspension with the hopes of returning to the Tour in August 2026.
The very large caveat in this rumored plan is that Koepka would be forfeiting nearly $20 million if he chose to skip out on the upcoming LIV Golf campaign. As for actually playing golf in 2026, he'd still be eligible to compete on the DP World Tour and in major championships thanks to his 2023 PGA Championship victory.
Brooks Koepka's name is caught up in some rather big LIV Golf rumors. Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
With the rumors gaining steam in some circles, Carpenter asked LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil about Koepka's future, and he didn't exactly put his foot down and deny anything.
"I know you're not going to want to hear this one, just the individual players, and this goes back to our policy, we're just going to run it through. So, we haven't made any announcements on players, but he is signed for 2026."
One would imagine that if O'Neil knew with absolute certainty that Koepka would be teeing it up on LIV next year, he would take this as an opportunity to kill the rumors, but he didn't.
Koepka has won five LIV Golf titles since 2022, but is coming off his first winless campaign since making the jump. He also had the worst major championship season of his professional career in 2025, missing three of four cuts to go along with a T-12 at the U.S. Open.