With the start of the 2026 season looming, all eyes are on Brooks Koepka and where he plays the majority of his golf over the coming months.

Brooks Koepka made an unprecedented move during December. The five-time major champion became the first marquee name to push to leave LIV Golf, with the league previously luring several top players to jump from the PGA Tour.

Of course, it would be a boost to the PGA Tour to have Koepka back in the ranks. However, those who have previously left LIV Golf have been unable to make an immediate return.

And the 35-year-old will not be able to play on the PGA Tour until September if he must wait a year from his most recent LIV start.

Brooks Koepka’s potential return discussed by PGA Tour player

Koepka could return to the DP World Tour for the majority of the season. The American previously established himself on the European circuit.

But perhaps Koepka’s departure could force the PGA Tour to make a change to their policy, with Brian Rolapp at the helm.

Speaking on the Pat Mayo Experience, Michael Kim suggested that Rolapp’s appointment could boost the chances of Koepka making an immediate return to the PGA Tour as he also opened up on the reaction from fellow players, including Rory McIlroy.

“I’m sure there has to have been conversations between Brooks’ team and some of the tour leadership. I’m sure there’s been plenty of communication between at least the guys on the board, I’m sure there’s been talk amongst those guys,” he said.

“In a sense [Rory’s] turned down the most money, right, by not going to LIV. But he’s been in favour of let’s just get everyone back together, it seems like. I’ve never talked to Rory about it, but it seems like he’s been more open to it than some of the others who turned down much, much less, or that it wasn’t even an option for them. There’s definitely going to be guys who say ‘no, why does he get the big cheque and get to come back? I would have gone to LIV Q-School and come back if that was okay’. So there’s definitely going to be some talk about it.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how it plays out. I’m obviously not going to have much say in it. But I think the fact that Brian Rolapp’s in charge now, who was never part of the early LIV [drama], and had a fresh look on everything, I think that is going to help Brooks out I think more than when Jay [Monahan] was in charge.”

Brian Rolapp’s recent comments may be telling as Brooks Koepka’s future remains uncertain

Rolapp is yet to publicly comment on the prospect of Koepka returning to the PGA Tour. The PGA Tour did release a vague statement when Koepka’s LIV exit was announced. But the CEO is yet to make his stance clear.

But perhaps there are clues in comments Rolapp made about Bryson DeChambeau late on in 2025. He was full of praise for the two-time US Open champion.

“I think I think Bryson is a star in he’s an amazing golfer,” he said.

“He’s also amazing for what he does off the golf course, in that, you know, the bulk of his consumption where people see him is on YouTube, by the way. I mean, they don’t see him on television because the other league doesn’t really draw a lot of viewers.

“Yeah, I think everybody wants to see the best golfers compete. But I will say, there’s a complete misconception about the sport of golf that I think is that any given tournament or competition matters, if there’s the same three or four people in it.

“You want to see the same three or four people in it, but if you look at the depth of talent of the PGA Tour, that competitive parity aspect of it is unrivalled, and there’s no tour on Earth that has the deeper amount of talent than the PGA Tour has. And every sport has stars, but what really makes sports work is also the middle class.”

As much as DeChambeau and Koepka would probably not like to admit it, their careers have been incredibly closely linked over the last seven years with their feud, and their moves to LIV.

And it is certainly the case that many of Rolapp’s comments about DeChambeau could be just as easily applied to Koepka.

There is an argument that bending the rules for Koepka could be a gamble given the message that it would send other players considering joining LIV.

But clearly, many involved with the PGA Tour feel that the prospect of having Koepka back is too good an opportunity for Rolapp to turn down.