PGA Tour broke promise on Brooks Koepka's return, honorary Masters starter Tom Watson says

Koepka left LIV Golf in December 2025. At the time of his departure, the three-time PGA Championship winner had roughly one year remaining on his contract with the Saudi-backed circuit.

"The Tour ​made a decision to renege on what they promised when the players left for LIV. They felt ‌that the compensation that he's paid is good enough," Watson said at the 90th edition of the Masters.

Watson then laid out what he believes should happen going forward.

Koepka addressed his return to the PGA Tour in a post on social media.

"When I was a child, I always dreamed about competing on the PGA Tour, and I am just as excited today to announce that I am returning to the PGA Tour," Koepka said in a statement posted to X on Jan. 12. "Being closer to home and spending more time with my family makes this opportunity especially meaningful to me. I believe in where the PGA Tour is headed with new leadership, new investors, and an equity program that gives players a meaningful ownership stake."

"I also understand there are financial penalties associated with this decision, and I accept those," his statement continued.

Several LIV golfers - including Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith - rejected the PGA Tour's controversial offer. Hideki Matsuyama and Wyndham Clark, who reportedly passed on financially advantageous LIV deals, said Koepka's move left them conflicted.

Matsuyama told Golf Digest Japan he was "shocked" by Koepka's return, adding that he respected the decision but was discouraged by what he saw as a lack of communication from the tour.

Watson joined the PGA Tour in 1971, winning eight major during his storied career.

He also suggested that LIV defections created a fundamental breach of the sport's core principles.

"When the players left for LIV, I think it was basically over. They chose to go for the money, which ​is fine. But to return to the tour, I thought, was a nonstarter. But apparently it's not."

Watson last played competitively at the 2019 Senior Open Championship and continues as an honorary starter to open the Masters for a fifth consecutive year.