Brooks Koepka left LIV Golf in December 2025 and returned to the PGA Tour just a few weeks later.
Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour was far from seamless. He had to pay a $5 million fee to charity and was told that he wouldn’t be eligible for any Signature Events.
It’s fair to say that the five-time major champion has paid his dues, and his return has been beneficial for the PGA Tour and, indeed, its members.
Tom Lehman is a fierce advocate for the PGA Tour, so perhaps it should be no surprise that the 67-year-old is not happy one little bit with the way that Brooks Koepka‘s return from LIV Golf was handled.
Interestingly, Tom Watson took a similar stance on Koepka’s PGA Tour return back in April, suggesting that the 35-year-old shouldn’t have been allowed back immediately.
And now Lehman has followed suit.
Brooks Koepka said to have been given incorrect punishment by the PGA Tour
Lehman has been speaking to Beyond The Clubhouse about Koepka’s recent return to the PGA Tour from LIV Golf.
And the 1996 Open champion made it very clear where he stands on the matter.
“You know, I would have a policy that says if you leave the PGA tour for more than 12 months to play in a competing tour, and then you want to come back, you can come back, but you don’t come back with any kind of status whatsoever,“ Lehman insisted.
“You’re at the bottom of the barrel.
“So if you went away as a top 50, you know, in the world rankings, or a major champion, you know, I don’t care what your status is.
“When you come back, you go behind the tour school.
“You know, and you start from the bottom of the barrel when it comes to eligibility and you work your way back up.
“And what that means for them is basically nothing but sponsor invites or even better yet, put them back on the Korn Ferry for a year.
“But to leave, then to come back and be able to just jump right in and play at any point. I don’t care if you sit out a year, it is wrong. I’m totally against that.
“And if I was playing back then, or playing right now, I would be really vocal about that.
“I think that’s a terrible idea to let the guys who are not loyal to the PGA Tour leave and then walk back in with just a slap on the wrist and then say ‘let’s go, boys’.
“I think that’s wrong.
“You know, start over. Earn your way back up and that’s what I would do.“
Tom Lehman’s take on Brooks Koepka’s PGA Tour return was far too harsh
Describing the terms surrounding Koepka’s return as a ‘slap on the wrist’ is wide of the mark from Lehman.
$5 million is a serious amount of money, regardless of how wealthy he is.
Also, the fact that he has been ineligible to play Signature Events without qualifying for them means that he hasn’t played one single no-cut event this season.
It’s also worth highlighting that Brooks Koepka’s return has been a great thing for the PGA Tour itself.
He is a huge name and having him play in tournaments will only have increased the viewership figures.
