Brooks Koepka has taken his first steps since parting ways with LIV Golf back in December.

The golf world had been waiting to see what his next move would be after the mutual termination of Brooks Koepka’s contract with LIV Golf.

Reports then emerged suggesting that he might spend this season on the DP World Tour.

While there are few players who can compete in majors without playing on either the PGA Tour or LIV, Koepka is certainly one of them at 35 years old.

Now, however, he has applied to have his PGA Tour membership reinstated.

The decision now rests with those at Ponte Vedra, and whatever they decide could have significant consequences for the future of the sport.

Smylie Kaufman shares thoughts on Brooks Koepka’s PGA Tour return bid

Players who have previously left LIV have often faced lengthy bans before returning. That could mean Koepka might be forced to sit out the 2026 season as part of his reinstatement process.

Koepka’s stature in the game could see some flexibility, though. His resume speaks for itself, and the PGA Tour would benefit from having someone of his profile back in their line-up.

Bringing the 35-year-old back would be a major boost for the PGA Tour. He was one of the biggest names to defect to LIV, and among currently active players, only Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have surpassed his major championship wins.

But Smylie Kaufman told The Smylie Show that his main concern would be if Koepka’s return negatively impacts another player.

“I think the membership of the PGA Tour, especially many of the players who either didn’t get into signature events or just missed getting their PGA Tour cards, I think they’re watching this pretty closely to see how Brian Rolapp and this committee led by Tiger Woods is going to handle this situation, because it does set a precedent if Brooks Koepka is allowed back and given his status back to where he can play on the PGA Tour. It also opens up an avenue for other players to do it,” he began by saying.

“But when you think about it, they are getting players that still have status – it’s like Jon Rahm, it’s Bryson DeChambeau, it’s the players that they actually want to have back quickly. I think it’s interesting in what they could do here.

“I question whether Brooks Koepka should be allowed to get into signature events, although that’s where the PGA Tour and the networks would want to see him, playing against the best in the world. Although I don’t see that situation unfolding. I could see him maybe getting into open events, open field events.

“How you would be able to handle that, do you expand the field by one spot so that one guy doesn’t get in based off Brooks Koepka being allowed back? There’s a bunch of different ways to look at it. I myself hope that he does tee it up this season, but I definitely don’t want him to be taking a spot away from a PGA Tour player.”

PGA’s Brian Rolapp faces big decision as Brooks Koepka looks to rejoin

The tour could make an argument for making an exception in Koepka’s case – fans will be eager to see how he performs back on familiar ground.

The challenge for Rolapp is that 2026 marks a major structural shift in how tour cards are retained. The number of automatic spots dropped from 125 to 100 after last season.

So being part of signature events has become even more important than ever before. Anyone outside the top 50 faces a much tougher road now just to keep their card for another year.

If anyone appears outside expected channels or structures (including those making direct attempts), things might not feel so fair moving forward now due to the change.

If the PGA Tour decides to adjust the rules for Koepka, adding an extra spot in each field might be a fairer way than taking opportunities away from others who have already planned their schedules around limited openings.