World No.1 Scottie Scheffler “Glad” to Have Brooks Koepka Back on PGA Tour

Brooks Koepka returned to the PGA Tour last week after leaving LIV Golf in December.

World No.1 Scottie Scheffler “Glad” to Have Brooks Koepka Back on PGA Tour

Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka (Image via PGA Tour/Golf)

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World No.1 Scottie Scheffler will make his first start of the 2026 season at The American Express tournament this week. Ahead of this, the golfer spoke on the big return of Brooks Koepka and claimed he was “glad” to have him back.

Koepka sent a massive shockwave across the golf community in December by leaving LIV Golf. The 5-time major champion, who still had one year remaining on this contract, would bring an end to his 4-year stay with LIV Golf and leave them.

Last week, he officially got reinstated to the PGA Tour. In a statement released by CEO Brian Rolapp, the tour announced the establishment of the Returning Member Program, a one-time window which allowed Koepka to come back.

While he will not tee off this week at The American Express, Scheffler is still excited to have him back. In a conversation on the SiriusXM Radio PGA Tour Radio, the 4-time major champion claimed he was looking forward to competing with Koepka this year.

I’m glad we were able to get him back. He had a desire to come back on Tour… I love being able to compete against him, and I’m looking forward to getting to do that a lot more often this year.

Scottie Scheffler said regarding Brooks Koepka

Koepka was one of the high profile names among the first wave of PGA Tour players to leave them and join LIV Golf on a big money contract. His deal with the Saudi-backed tour was reported to be worth more than $100 million.

During his time away from the tour, Koepka won 5 times on LIV Golf. He even captured his 5th major title by winning the PGA Championship in 2023.

This triumph ultimately allowed him to return to the tour. As per the Returning Member Program rules, only those players are eligible to return who had been away for more than 2 years and had won either The Players Championship or one of the four majors from 2022 to 2025.

PGA Tour star sounded off following the return of Brooks Koepka

Not everyone on the PGA Tour is happy to see Brooks Koepka return. Following his dramatic comeback after leaving LIV Golf, a PGA Tour star sounded off on his return.

Brooks Koepka
Brooks Koepka (Image via BBC)

While appearing on the SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio last week, Wyndham Clark expressed his frustrations. The 2023 U.S. Open winner wished there were more repercussions regarding this.

It’s kind of frustrating that he’s able to get the cake and also eat it… I don’t know. I’m very torn… I don’t know really how I feel. I wish maybe there was a few more repercussions.

Wyndham Clark said regarding Brooks Koepka

He did express that the return of Koepka does help the tour in getting stronger. However, the golfer believes that his former Ryder Cup teammate should not have been allowed to come back so easily.

Clark himself had offers from LIV Golf in December 2023. He, though, turned them down and expressed that he was prioritizing his “legacy” on the tour. Had he joined them, he would have been allowed to return under these new rules, as he would have been away for 2 years and had won one of the 4 majors.

Brooks Koepka adds 3rd PGA Tour event to his schedule following return

As Brooks Koepka prepares to return to the tour, he has added a third tour event. Apart from the Farmers Insurance Open and the Waste Management Phoenix Open, he will also play in the Cognizant Classic, making it three events before the end of February.

Brooks Koepka
Brooks Koepka (Image via Imago)

The Cognizant Classic takes places from the PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens in Florida. This will thus be a home event for Koepka as he resides in Jupiter, Florida.

For now, his attention will be on next week’s Farmers Insurance Open from the Torrey Pines Golf Course. This will be his first regular PGA Tour start since the 2022 Valspar Championship, where he finished T12th following an 11-under par score.

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