One of LIV Golf’s biggest stars reportedly intends to opt-out of the final season of his contract with the Saudi-owned league, perhaps with the intention of getting back to the PGA Tour sooner.
According to Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal, Brooks Kopeka is seriously weighing skipping out on the 2026 LIV Golf League season in its entirety. Koepka, a five-time major winner with his most recent win in the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill, has access to all four major championships without having to compete anywhere else.
Koepka had his worst season on LIV Golf in 2025, finishing inside the top 10 just twice, including a runner-up finish in Singapore. He finished 31st in the season-long standings. Koepka’s Smash GC team, which he owns 25 percent of, finished fourth in the team standings.
Koepka has been a prolific LIV Golf winner, having won the second-most individual titles in league history with five. (Joaquin Niemann surpassed Koepka this year after winning five titles in 2025.)
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There have been long-rampant reports and rumors that Koepka, among other LIV Golf players, has been unhappy with the decision to leave the PGA Tour. In April, Global Golf Post founder Jim Nugent wrote a column saying Koepka is “miserable” on the circuit.
Koepka said at the LIV Golf Singapore event that same month that he will honor his LIV Golf contract to its conclusion and was not sure what he would do next.
“I’ve got a contract obligation out here to fulfill, and then we’ll see what happens,” Koepka said. “I don’t know where I’m going, so I don’t know how everybody else does.”
Carpenter asked LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil about the rumors of Koepka potentially walking away from the league a year ahead of schedule, and O’Neil responded: “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.”
If Koepka does opt-out of LIV Golf in 2026, that would mean he played his last event for the league in 2025. Under precedent set with previous LIV Golf players and participants, the PGA Tour has suspended players for an additional year from the date of their last LIV Golf event. If the PGA Tour were to punish Koepka similarly, then he would be eligible to come back to the PGA Tour for the 2027 season.
It’s unlikely the PGA Tour would welcome Koepka back while he’s still under contract with LIV Golf, however. One of the tenets of the June 2023 Framework Agreement signed between the organizations prevents player poaching. Then again, it might be seen as turnabout for LIV Golf signing Jon Rahm at the end of 2023.
