WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. \u2014 The head of the LIV Golf League said Wednesday that he\u2019d have done the same thing the PGA Tour is doing now: finding a fast pathway back for Brooks Koepka.<\/p>\n
Scott O\u2019Neil, the CEO of LIV Golf, joined a leadership panel at a preseason LIV media event at the Palm Beach Convention Center, and Koepka was understandably one of the topics of conversation.<\/p>\n
Last month, the five-time major champion announced along with LIV Golf that he was leaving the league \u201camicably\u201d after four years. The PGA Tour on Monday said that Koepka had been reinstated, with penalties<\/a>, and will make his return in two weeks at the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe in free agency,\u201d O\u2019Neil said during a news conference. \u201cCall me old-fashioned. I believe in open pathways. I believe people should be where they want to be. I believe our 57 players should be able to play PGA Tour events. We are not restrictive. That\u2019s what we\u2019ve believed since day one.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had some friction with the DP World Tour and it\u2019s been costly to us [due to fines]. But we encourage them to play DP World Tour events.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think this is where he [Koepka] wanted to be. He talked about some of the challenges in public. I want people in the room who are going to wrap their arms around us. This is not a holy war. At least not from our side. I root for Brooks. I\u2019m hoping for the best for him and his family if this is what he wants.\u201d<\/p>\n O\u2019Neil said he was not surprised that the PGA Tour has reinstated Koepka: \u201cI think I\u2019d have done the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n The PGA Tour prohibits players from competing in LIV Golf events, deeming them unauthorized. It announced Monday a narrow \u201cReturning Member Program\u201d<\/a> that only applies to players on LIV who won majors between 2022 and 2025. That means that only Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cam Smith were eligible.<\/p>\n