As Brooks Koepka prepares to rejoin the PGA Tour under the new Returning Member Program, one of the Tour’s most outspoken voices, 2023 U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, has shared a candid and conflicted reaction. While Clark acknowledged the potential benefits Koepka’s return brings to the PGA Tour, he also expressed frustration over the optics of the situation and what it means for players who chose to remain.
Clark’s comments, made on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio, highlight a broader tension within professional golf this season: as top players who spent years on the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit return to the PGA Tour through a one-time window, questions about fairness, loyalty, and competitive equity remain front and center for many of their peers.
“I’m Very Torn”: Clark’s Reaction
Clark described his feelings about Koepka’s return as genuinely conflicted. “I personally really like Brooks, and I think it’s ultimately really good for the PGA Tour,” Clark said, affirming that having elite players back in the fold can elevate the product and competition. But he also pointed to a sense of unease about how the situation unfolded.
“But also, as a guy who had an opportunity to go to LIV, it’s kind of frustrating that he’s able to get the cake and also eat it,” Clark continued. “… at the end of the day I want whatever’s best for the PGA Tour, and I think if guys come back, especially top players like Brooks, it’s only going to help the Tour, which is ultimately going to help me.”
Loyalty, Opportunity, and Mixed Signals
Clark’s viewpoint is shaped in part by his own standing: unlike many elite golfers, he declined a lucrative offer from LIV Golf before the 2024 season, choosing to stay with the PGA Tour and maintain his membership and ranking there. That history gives him a personal stake in how returning members are received and reintegrated.
“The fact that there’s a hard deadline and some conditions in place,” Clark added in his interview, “I just hope they stick with that and don’t waver with that maybe in like a year or two.”
Though Clark did not call for punitive measures beyond what the Tour has already set, he hinted that the terms of Koepka’s return, including financial penalties and restrictions on equity and bonus eligibility, might not fully address deeper concerns among current Tour pros.
“If you would’ve told me that I could have gone for a year and a half, make a boatload of money and then be able to come back and play on the Tour, I think almost everyone would have done that,” Clark said.
Why Koepka’s Return Matters to the Tour
Koepka, a five-time major champion, is set to make his PGA Tour comeback at the Farmers Insurance Open later this month, and he could also play the WM Phoenix Open the following week. His reinstatement comes after more than three years on LIV Golf, a period that saw many fans and golfers alike debate the fragmentation of the sport.
Under the PGA Tour’s newly established Returning Member Program, players who have won a major or The Players Championship since 2022 and have been away from the Tour for at least two years are eligible to apply for reinstatement. Koepka’s return is the most prominent early example of this policy in action.
For the Tour, Koepka’s presence promises to boost visibility, TV ratings and fan interest heading into the early part of the season. That’s especially relevant given the competitive pressures the PGA Tour has faced in recent years with rival circuits and shifting player allegiances
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