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Scheffler, Spieth, Aberg, Homa or Woodland, among others, speak out

The stars of the PGA Tour react to the return of Brooks Koepka

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Fotografía con la que Homa da la bienvenida a Koepka
Fotografía con la que Homa da la bienvenida a Koepka

The return of Brooks Koepka to the PGA Tour is undoubtedly one of the most impactful news stories at the start of this year in the world of sport. The creation of a special return programme with compensations, already accepted by the West Palm Beach native and also available to Jon Rahm, Cameron Smith, and Bryson DeChambeau until the upcoming 2nd of February, is a power move by the American tour against the departure of some of its stars to LIV Golf.

And although we will still have to wait to hear everyone’s opinion, especially from the many players who have decided not to compete this week at the Sony Open in Hawaii, several notable names from the American circuit have already spoken out, starting with none other than the World Number One and great dominator of recent times, Scottie Scheffler, who sees the return of Brooks to the PGA Tour in a positive light.

“I think it was a smart decision,” commented Scheffler on the Golf Subpar podcast. The OWGR leader did not go into detail about the issue of the penalty for Brooks returning, something that Jordan Spieth did mention in statements to AP: “No one knows exactly what the punishment will be until we see how the growth of the estate evolves. Could it end up being similar to what he was seeking in LIV? Maybe. Probably not. But, in any case, it is substantial enough that if he played well, it would still be a penalty.”

Ludvig Aberg focused more on the sporting aspect in words to The Drop: “We all want to play against the best players. Brooks Koepka is undoubtedly one of them.” Meanwhile, Billy Horschel believes the decision of the PGA Tour regarding his compatriot is the right one: “I think for the improvement of the PGA Tour, for its continued growth, for the competitive aspect, for the possible changes we will see from 2027, this has been a great step forward to continue the momentum we had in 2025.”

 

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Gary Woodland has also spoken to AP and is pleased with the return of Koepka, with whom he maintains a personal relationship that goes beyond the golf courses: “I’m in a tough spot because I’m friends with Brooks. Many of the guys here are friends with Brooks. A couple of years ago, there was a lot more hostility between the two circuits. That’s gone now. I’m happy for Brooks. I’m happy for the tour because we’re finally getting to the point of leaving all this crap behind and getting back to golf.”

Finally, Homa only needed a photo on his Instagram profile with a “welcome back, Brooks” to confirm that he is pleased with his teammate’s return. Meanwhile, Michael Kim shared his “thoughts” on the matter in a post saying: “The truth is I’m surprised by the amount of penalties Brooks has to take on. It was a good decision to welcome him back. Most of the anger comes from the feeling that we’ve missed out on something, but that’s not something that allows us to make smart decisions. I think it was very important for the tour that Brooks didn’t wait for his contract with LIV to end and turned down a large amount of money to come back. Some are angry, but ironically, I think the best have accepted it better. I understand why some are angry, but in the end, the tour has to make decisions that are best for the whole and Brooks‘ return is good. Personally, I’m not angry or happy about his return. We knew it was going to happen for a while and my job doesn’t change. I’m trying to win this tournament and play the best I can this year. That’s all.”