{"id":372572,"date":"2025-12-26T07:59:39","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T07:59:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/372572\/"},"modified":"2025-12-26T07:59:39","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T07:59:39","slug":"what-next-for-brooks-koepka-after-his-shock-liv-golf-exit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/372572\/","title":{"rendered":"What next for Brooks Koepka after his shock LIV Golf exit?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\tIn a shock move, Brooks Koepka has announced he has left LIV Golf before the 2026 season. But when can he return to the PGA Tour?<\/p>\n<p>Brooks Koepka has announced he is leaving LIV Golf.<\/p>\n<p>The five-time major champion, who stunned many by joining LIV back in 2022, will now depart the breakaway league despite having a year remaining on his lucrative contract.<\/p>\n<p>Koepka has become the the first huge star to leave LIV but it is unclear at this stage when, or indeed if, he will return to the PGA Tour.<\/p>\n<p>His wife, Jena, suffered a miscarriage earlier this year, and a statement from Koepka\u2019s management team said that \u201che feels like this is the right moment to spend more time at home\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBrooks Koepka will be stepping away from LIV Golf,\u201d read a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.livgolf.com\/news\/talor-gooch-taking-over-as-smash-gc-captain-2026\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">statement released by LIV<\/a> on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>After thanking the governor of Saudi Arabia\u2019s Public Investment Fund, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, LIV CEO Scott O\u2019Neil, his teammates, and the fans, it added: \u201cFamily has always guided Brooks\u2019 decisions, and he feels this is the right moment to spend more time at home.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBrooks will continue to be a huge supporter of LIV Golf and wishes the league and its players continued success. Brooks remains passionate about the game of golf and will keep fans updated on what\u2019s ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A short statement from O\u2019Neil added: \u201cWe have amicably and mutually agreed that Brooks Koepka will no longer compete in the LIV Golf League, following the 2025 season. Brooks is prioritizing the needs of his family and staying closer to home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Right now, the future career path of Koepka is a fascinating unknown.<\/p>\n<p>Since LIV held its inaugural event in the summer of 2022, the PGA Tour has banned its members who have jumped ship and competed on the rival league.<\/p>\n<p>Non-members who have competed on LIV and wish to return have been subjected to a 12-month ban.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s no secret that Koepka holds the majors in such high regard and his win at the 2023 PGA Championship has earned him exemptions into the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.todays-golfer.com\/news-and-events\/majors\/the-masters\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Masters<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.todays-golfer.com\/news-and-events\/majors\/the-open-championship\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Open<\/a> until 2028.<\/p>\n<p>He is exempt into the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.todays-golfer.com\/news-and-events\/majors\/us-pga-championship\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">PGA Championship<\/a> for life and can play in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.todays-golfer.com\/news-and-events\/majors\/us-open\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">US Open<\/a> until 2028, too.<\/p>\n<p>Should Koepka continue playing competitive golf straight away, he could return to Europe and compete on the DP World Tour \u2013 where he cut his teeth before graduating on to the PGA Tour and becoming a dominant force in the majors.<\/p>\n<p>But what about an immediate return to his former domain stateside?<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after Koepka\u2019s announcement, Ponte Vedra HQ released an intriguing, if ambiguous statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBrooks Koepka is a highly-accomplished professional, and we wish him and his family continued success. The PGA Tour continues to offer the best professional golfers the most competitive, challenging, and lucrative environment in which to pursue greatness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Should the PGA Tour uphold the 12-month ban, Koepka will be eligible for a return in August.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"876\" height=\"584\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/smash-gc-liv-golf-team.jpg\" alt=\"Several of the 2026 LIV Golf teams - including Smash GC - are going to look very different.\" class=\"wp-image-280480\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Koepka\u2019s former teammate Talor Gooch has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.todays-golfer.com\/news-and-events\/tour-news\/liv-golf-offseason-window\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">replaced him as captain of Smash GC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The team is now looking for a new signing to replace Koepka ahead their season opener in Riyadh in February.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to start by thanking Brooks,\u201d Gooch said. \u201cHe is one of the greatest competitors in the game and I have learned so much from him while being his teammate on Smash GC. He\u2019s a friend and teammate, and I have great respect for his decision. I wish him, Jena, and their family all the best.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLooking ahead, I am incredibly honored and excited to officially take on the Captaincy role for the 2026 season. I\u2019m excited and ready to embrace this new leadership and career challenge. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m eager to build on the competitive standard Brooks established and work with our players to lead this team into this next successful chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a shock move, Brooks Koepka has announced he has left LIV Golf before the 2026 season. But&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":372573,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,755,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-372572","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-golf","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/372573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}