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Brooks Koepka leaves LIV

Brooks Koepka leaves LIV

+ News, Notes, and 2025 Favorites

Sean Melia
December 26, 2025

Hey Everyone,

Happy Boxing Day. My family calls the week between Christmas and New Years “Pajama Week.” I hope you find, and have found, time to relax and recharge.

Even during the week of Christmas, golf is still chugging along. Golfers are retiring, Mito Pereira, and leaving LIV, Brooks Koepka. And juniors are competing down in Doral (lucky…). Sadly, a Japanese legend passed away, too (Jumbo Ozaki).

More locally, the fight to save Cape Cod CC is still alive.

Next week, the Falmouth Planning Board is meeting on Dec. 30; Cape Cod CC is on the agenda. It’s not clear what will be discussed specifically. It is open to the public. Unclear if it will be streamed live. More next week after the meeting.

The Save Historic Cape Cod CC facebook page has changed tack to try to slow or stop this project. They are highlighting the danger to the community due to battery fires. They are also digging into the possibility that PureSky’s subsidies might dry up, especially on the heels of wind farm projects being halted this week…

A legal battle might be coming in one form or another, especially as Falmouth residents are discovering what’s happening and how it might impact the larger community.

News and Notes

Pro Golf

🏌️ Jumbo Ozaki, a Japanese golfing legend and a bit of a mythological figure, died this week at the age of 78. Adam Schupack wrote about him for Golfweek.

🏃 Mito Pereira announced he is retiring from professional golf. The man who might be best known for a tragic 18th hole tee shot at Southern Hills in the 2022 PGA Championship had been playing on LIV for the last couple of years.

In a statement, he wrote:

I carry with me unforgettable memories: the three Korn Ferry Tour titles that earned me a place on the PGA Tour; my time on the LIV Tour, where I discovered many destinations and truly enjoyed competing as part of an incredible team, Team Torque; and the honor of representing Chile at the Pan American Games and the Olympic Games. Standing on the podium in Lima 2019 and narrowly missing an Olympic medal in Tokyo 2020 are moments that will remain forever in my memory and in my heart.

👋 Here’s my quick take on Brooks Koepka leaving LIV:

To start, I think he should have to sit out until August when he’s eligible to play again on the PGA Tour. He can compete on the DP World Tour and the majors, but making reentry easy makes it more tempting for players to bounce back and forth between the two leagues, and that’s not good.

Even if an unobscured path back to the PGA Tour could lure one more star back into the fold in the next 3-4 months, in the long run, it’s not a good idea. They also don’t need a tribunal to decide these players’ fate on a case-by-case basis. Make a rule and stick to it.

The biggest blow to LIV here is that they are losing a player who is likely looking in the mirror and seeing someone running out of time to build a legacy. Koepka, who is 35, is likely hoping to finish building his legacy, but LIV doesn’t allow for that. It’s why Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson all signed up. They were cooked.

Koepka cited injury and spending more time with his family as his reasons for leaving, considering the attraction of LIV was always fewer events, 54 holes (not anymore…), and oodles of cash. His wife, Jena, had a miscarriage this year, a seismic event in anyone’s life, no matter how many commas are in your bank account; trips to the ends of the world become a lot less appealing.

Reading between the lines, Koepka has five majors and an ego big enough to think he can win another one (and jump back ahead of Rory McIlroy). LIV doesn’t provide that chance, and he now has all the money he and his grandkids would ever need.

People are flocking to the idea that this will open the floodgates for LIV defectors. We’ll see. It never felt like Koepka bought in. He didn’t wear his Smash uniform at majors and never really spoke like he chugged the Kool-Aid like Bryson.

It’s another chapter in this saga, and now we have two new heads of state at each organization. Should be an interesting 2026.

This Brody Miller piece was an excellent breakdown of Koepka’s decision.

Amateur Golf

🍊A few Bay Staters were in Florida for the Doral Publix Junior Golf Classic. It’s a massive event with multiple age divisions and 600 players. Jack Cheever, who shot a 58 at Marion in the Young Golfer’s Amateur, finished T34 in the Boys 14&15 division. Jack Carew finished T28 in the Boys 16-18 Division. Adrianna Eaton of Rhode Island had a runner-up finish in the Girls 16-18 Division. If there are any players from Mass that I missed, let me know! Results

🏅 If you missed it, I shared my first set of 20 Bay State All-Stars. I broke them up into five foursomes based on their performances. See them all here.

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