Brooks Koepka-PGA Tour question? For Rory McIlroy, the answer is easy

Brooks Koepka’s the decision to leave LIV Golf there is push the cold war pro golf back in the spotlight.

Koepka became the first big name to split with the league backed by Saudi Arabia. His exodus has led many to ask obvious questions about the professional future of the five-time major winner. Will he try to return to the PGA Tour? Should he be allowed? What would be his punishment if and when he chooses to make his return?

For Rory McIlroy, the answer to the Brooks Koepka-PGA Tour question is quite simple.

“Does it make sense if Brooks wanted to play the PGA Tour again to get him back as soon as possible? Absolutely,” McIlroy told The Palm Beach Post on Friday after his Boston Common Golf team won DATE match on the Los Angeles Golf Club. “What Brooks has done to the game of golf, it would be great if everyone could bring it back.”

McIlroy, of course, knows that Koepka’s road to the PGA Tour may not be so easy. The PGA Tour has forced others who have played on the LIV to serve severe suspensions before they can return to the PGA Tour. Hudson Swafford, who played at LIV for three seasons before being relegated, told GOLF’s subparagraph Podcast that he is currently in the midst of a five-year suspension from the PGA Tour. He said he will not be eligible to return until 2027.

McIlroy understands that the PGA Tour can’t give Koepka special treatment, even if they wanted to. The slope is slippery.

“It’s difficult (because) you can’t treat one person any differently than you treat others,” McIlroy said. “And as much as the Tour would like to treat Brooks differently, it sets a legal precedent, because of the lawsuits that have happened and everything else behind the scenes. He’s still banned from the Tour because of his big wins. That’s not the obstacle. The obstacle is how they’ve treated others who have tried to come back, as difficult as it is.”

McIlroy used to be the front man in the PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf battle. But the five-time major champion has since retreated amid ongoing civil conflict and believes it’s time for professional golf to put its differences aside and come back together. For McIlroy, those who left LIV have already been punished in the public eye.

“I think they’ve already paid the consequences,” McIlroy said overlapping Stick to Football afterdcast. “They’ve made the money, but they’ve paid the consequences in terms of reputation and some of the things they’ve lost going there.” “If it made the overall tour stronger to bring back Bryson and whoever else, I’d be fine with it, but I understand that not everyone is in my position. It’s going to be up to the collective body of PGA Tour members to make that decision.

“For golf to be relevant, I think we need the best players together more often than that.”

In February, McIlroy explained how he went from being an outspoken critic of LIV to someone who just wants it all to end with.

“Whether you stayed on the PGA Tour or left, we all benefited from it,” McIlroy said at the Genesis Invitational. “I’ve been on the record saying this a lot: We’re playing for a $20 million prize pool this week. This would never have happened if LIV hadn’t come along. I think everybody has to get over it, and we all have to say, OK, this is the starting point and we move forward. We don’t look back. We don’t see how it happened, but how the past was. Everybody comes back together and moves forward, that’s the thing. better for everyone.

“If people are hurt or their feelings are hurt because guys went or whatever, like, who cares? Let’s move forward together and try to get this thing going again and do what’s best for the game.”

As for Koepka’s professional future, GOLF’s Dylan Dethier learned that Koepka’s representatives informed the PGA Tour of his plan to leave LIV before the split became public. Koepka did not renew his PGA Tour membership after leaving for LIV in 2022, so he would have to reapply for membership and then put the PGA Tour and new CEO Brian Rolapp up for any disciplinary action.

As for LIV, Koepka’s departure has given Bryson DeChambeau even more leverage in contract renewal negotiations. DeChambeau said Flushing It that Koepka’s exit has, at least, added a wrinkle.

“It’s a scenario that’s very unique,” DeChambeau said Flushing It. “With Brooks leaving, it definitely throws in some unique things. And look, I mean, like I’ve said all along, I want to do this, I want to grow team golf around the globe. But it has to be right. And there’s a lot of things that have to be done in order for it to be right, you know?

“Things have to change. Things have to improve. And I think (CEO Scott O’Neil) has done a fabulous job with the year he’s had. And I think this year is going to be even better, now he’s got the right people in place and he can run the organization the way he wants to do it here. So it’s going to be interesting with what’s new, especially interesting to watch. I’m not running this thing at all, to be honest with you, but it is what it is, isn’t it?

When Koepka officially parted ways with LIV, his representatives released a statement saying he made the decision to “spend more time at home with his family.” But the statement also made it clear that this seismic move was not the end of Brooks Koepka’s story.

“Brooks remains passionate about the game of golf and will keep fans updated on what’s next,” the statement said.

What lies ahead could very well be a return to the PGA Tour. Rory McIlroy favors a quick comeback, but the road ahead is murky at best at the moment.