Golf

‘no holy war, at least from our side’

by
Scoops
January 14, 2026

Koepka is the first major golfer to depart LIV, leaving before the end of his reported five-year, $125 million contract.
Despite Koepka’s exit, other high-profile players like Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau have affirmed their commitment to LIV Golf.

WEST PALM BEACH — Brooks Koepka’s departure from LIV Golf did not come as a complete surprise to the Saudi-backed league’s CEO Scott O’Neil, who added he has no ill will toward one of the league’s highest profile stars returning to the PGA Tour.

O’Neil admitted LIV was not where Koepka “wanted to be” and he only wants people who embrace what LIV is all about.

“I believe in free agency, I believe in open pathways,” said O’Neil, who spoke to a select group of media from LIV media days at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. ” I believe that people should be where they want to be.

“I don’t think this was where he wanted to be. And he talked about some of the challenges publicly, as his wife … I want people in the room that are going to wrap their arms around us and say, like, this is what I want.

“But if guys don’t want to be here, that’s okay with me.”

Koepka, the Palm Beach County native who lives in Jupiter, returned to the PGA Tour Jan. 12 after more than three years playing for LIV Golf. He is the first golfer of any significance to leave LIV, opting to forgo the final year of his reported five-year $125 million contract.

O’Neil, who replaced Greg Norman one year ago as LIV’s CEO, would not reveal how much it cost Koepka to get out of his contract.

O’Neil spoke with Koepka a few days before the Jan. 12 announcement that the five-time major champion was returning to the PGA Tour.

“There is no holy war, at least from our side,” O’Neil said. “I love Brooks, okay? I root for Brooks. I am hoping the best for him and his family. If this is what he wants, there will be no better cheerleader for him than me. Good for him if he’s getting what he wants and we get what we want. I couldn’t be happier for him and for us.”

With O’Neil and his team moving forward with several initiatives, including branding LIV golf as the “world’s golf league,” the league is preparing for a 2026 season that starts Feb. 4 in Saudi Arabia.

And that season will start with Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cam Smith, three players the PGA Tour specifically cited as eligible to return under the newly created Returning Member Program. Like Koepka, who has accepted the penalties, they meet the criteria of being away from the Tour for at least two years and having won The Players or a major championship during the 2022-2025 seasons.

Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Cam Smith still committed to LIV

Since the PGA Tour’s offer, all three said they are committed to LIV golf – for now.

“Our players were pretty clear,” O’Neil said. “I will tell you that when I spend time with these players, when I spend time with their families, when I’m with their caddies, when we’re on the road together, you get a pretty good sense of who’s in and who’s embracing what we’re doing and where we’re heading.

“And so there’s not a shadow of a doubt in my mind.”

O’Neil said LIV was given 72 hours notice the PGA Tour was announcing Koepka would be reinstated and he even made light of the Tour extending the same offer to DeChambeau, Rahm and Smith by name.

“Naming the players, me personally, I would have named a lot more of them,” he said. “I think we are loaded with talent. Bryson and Jon and Cam are not only wonderful leaders and extraordinary golfers and great people and understand their role in growing the game of golf, they have all that down.”

As O’Neil started listing players he would target if he were the PGA Tour — Jupiter’s Dustin Johnson, Dean Bermester, Carlos Ortiz, Sebastian Munoz — he was reminded by a LIV official to stop naming names.

“Let’s stop doing the name stuff. I think we’re good.”

Tom D’Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at [email protected].