Rory McIlroy says the return of Brooks Koepka to the PGA Tour may recommend that the rival LIV Golf tour is in decline.
Koepka, 35, is back on the PGA Tour after controversially becoming a member of the Saudi Arabian-backed LIV collection in 2022.
He has agreed to make a $5m (£3.7m) charitable donation as a part of his return, will forego any cost from the FedExCup Bonus scheme throughout the 2026 season and will probably be ineligible for the Tour’s participant fairness programme between 2026-2030, which may quantity to between $50-85m.
Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cam Smith have all indicated they may stay with LIV Golf however the lack of any new signings means that the facility could also be shifting, in line with McIlroy.
“It is not as in the event that they made any big signings this yr, is it?” the Northern Irishman advised The Daily Telegraph, external.
“They have not signed anybody who strikes the needle and I do not suppose they may.
“I imply, they may re-sign Bryson for a whole bunch of thousands and thousands of {dollars}, however even when they do, it would not change their product does it?
“They will simply be paying for the very same factor. And so they’ve misplaced Brooks.”
Former US Open champion Wyndham Clark, who performed within the 2023 Ryder Cup alongside Koepka, says he’s “torn” on his compatriot’s return to the PGA calendar after turning down an method from LIV himself.
“I personally actually like Brooks, and I believe it is in the end actually good for the PGA Tour, but additionally, , a man that had a chance to go to LIV, it is form of irritating that he is capable of get the cake and likewise eat it,” Clark mentioned.
“I had the provide. It was simply over a yr and a half in the past. And for those who would have advised me that I may have gone for a yr and a half, make a boatload of cash after which be capable of come again and play on the Tour, I believe virtually everybody would have executed that.”
