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Mark Schlabach
LIV Golf League captains Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith and Jon Rahm said Tuesday they’re not planning to follow Brooks Koepka back to the PGA Tour.
Speaking to reporters at a LIV preseason news conference in Palm Beach, Florida, DeChambeau, Smith and Rahm said they plan on remaining with the Saudi Arabian-financed breakaway circuit this season.
«I had no idea, no idea that that would happen,» DeChambeau, who is in the final year of his LIV Golf contract, said of Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour. «No idea what the penalties would even be. Right now, I’ve got a contract. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do at LIV Golf this year.»
Rahm, who was the last high-profile golfer to join LIV Golf, doing so in December 2023, is believed to have at least two years left on his contract.
Phil Mickelson said. «I consider Brooks a friend, and whatever he thinks is best for [him] and his family, I fully support.»
The last of Mickelson’s six major championship titles came at the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, South Carolina, where he became the oldest major winner. Mickelson, who helped recruit many golfers to LIV Golf before its launch in June 2022, is therefore ineligible to return to the PGA Tour under the Returning Member Program.
«I’m having so much fun out here,» Mickelson said. «I love playing out here on LIV. I love being with the guys.»
