Tiger Woods is an influential voice in the PGA Tour’s decision-making process and played a role in determining the pathway for the return of Brooks Koepka from LIV Golf’s ranks. Image courtesy HWC.
By Rahul Banerji
PGA Tour policy board member Tiger Woods has said Brooks Koepka’s return to its ranks stood to benefit boith the player and the organisation in the long run.
Speaking at the TGL match between his Jupiter Links GC and New York GC earlier this week in Florida, Woods said, ““With Brooks’ addition to the Tour makes it it a better place to play.
“Wth players who have earned equity, there are four more years of potential earning of equity for these players, the fact that they own the Tour, if Brooks plays, it puts more money in their pocket. It’s a win for everyone.”
The 15-time major winner felt the return of Koepka, one of LIV Golf’s major pillars,“says a lot” about where the Tour was headed, according to pgaour.com.
Winner of 82 Tour titles, Woods is an influential force on the Policy Board and the newly-created Future Competitions Committee, which is evaluating changes to the 2027 schedule.
He was also part of the process that helped finallse the Returning Member Programme (RMP) under which Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith have been offered a way back to the PGA Tour, albeit with heavy financial consequences.
Top draw
“We get a probably top-three-of-his-generation player back that went to another tour, played over there, and was adamant about coming back here and got out early to come back,” Woods said.
“That says a lot about the PGA Tour, where we’re headed, what we have done, what we accomplished and the players who have stayed.
“Having another world-class player that these guys are going to try and beat, that’s what the fans demanded. That’s what the fans wanted for our fan initiative programme, and I think we’ve addressed that.”
Koepka is in the field for the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines later this month and has also committed to the WM Phoenix Open which he has won twice.
The RMP has been put together in such a way that only the top four on the LIV roster would be eligible, and is slated to run out on February 2, timed with LIV Golf’s season-opener in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Conditions include a major title on at the Players since 2022 and heavy financial penalties “to ensure fairness to current members”.
“We tried to implement a plan that would be fair and adequate, that justifies Brooks’ time away from our tour, the penalties served, the fines if necessary, what the integration would look like on our tour, and obviously the bonus payouts, yes or no,” Woods said.
Tough call
“We had lots of subsequent meetings, worked through the holidays. There (were) no days off. We just worked through it day after day after day, and we came out with a plan that we unveiled.”
Not everyone on the PGA Tour is on board with Koepka’s return to the ranks. Wyndham Clark, for one, said he was “torn” at the decision.
Noted the 2023 US Open champion on a PGA Tour radion interview, “I personally really like Brooks, and I think it’s ultimately really good for the PGA Tour.
“But also a guy that had an opportunity to go to LIV, it’s kind of frustrating that he’s able to get the cake and also eat it.
“And if you would have told me that I could have gone for a year-and-a-half, made a boatload of money and then be able to come back, play on the tour, I think almost everyone would have done that.”
Also read: Brooks Koepka pays a hefty price for his return to PGA Tour ranks
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