Former Open champion Brian Harman has claimed the PGA Tour is "stronger" with the return of Brooks Koepka from LIV Golf. The five-time Major winner quit LIV after four seasons last month and faced a one-year ban to return to the PGA Tour, but the new Returning Members Program allows him to tee up at the Farmers Insurance Open later this month.
Koepka qualifies because he won the 2023 US PGA and has been away for more than two years. He must make a $5m donation to charity and will miss out on up to $85m in the Player Equity Program, which offers a stake in the PGA Tour to loyal players. The total cost of his return could reach $90m.
Fellow Major winner Jordan Spieth said Koepka has paid a "substantial" financial penalty and now just needs to play "really good golf". He added: "The punishment, no one knows exactly what it is until you see what happens with what the growth of equity becomes going forward. Could it end up being close to what he went to LIV for? Maybe. Probably not. But regardless, it's substantial enough."
Koepka has admitted he expects a "mixed bag" of reaction when he returns and understands that some players will be "angry". Harman said: "Like most guys, when you hear he's coming back, your first instinct is to be upset. But I think the punishment is real. It's not a free pass back into perfectly good graces."
The same policy is also aimed at enticing Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cam Smith back to the PGA Tour. DeChambeau has only one year left on his contract and is reportedly looking for a $500m fee to re-sign.
