PGA Tour veteran Hideki Matsuyama got his season off to a strong start at the Sony Open. But at this week’s Farmers Insurance Open, the 2021 Masters champion will have a formidable new opponent to contend with: Brooks Koepka.
While Matsuyama doesn’t have any problems with Koepka personally, he does have a problem with the PGA Tour for allowing Koepka to return from LIV Golf, at least in the manner in which he did.
Matsuyama shared his criticism of Koepka’s speedy Tour return in a new interview with Golf Digest Japan.
Hideki Matsuyama questions PGA Tour over Koepka comeback
Koepka was permitted to return to the PGA Tour via the newly-created Returning Member Program. The program has specific rules allowing an accelerated PGA Tour return for specific high-profile LIV golfers.
Only Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith fit those criteria. With the window to take the deal closing on February 2, Koepka is the only one who has accepted it (though Patrick Reed’s LIV departure could inspire others to follow Koepka’s lead).
Even Koepka admitted he was surprised by how quickly everything came together after he split with LIV in late December. Typically, former PGA Tour players who joined LIV would have to serve a one-year suspension when reapplying to the Tour.
That’s why the Koepka news came as a surprise to Matsuyama, as he revealed in his interview with Golf Digest Japan.
“I was shocked when I heard about it in the news… I thought, ‘Oh, he’s coming back…’ I guess they took that measure because he had achieved results at LIV,” Matsuyama said in translated comments.
Matsuyama displayed no animosity toward Koepka, saying of his LIV exit, “I think it’s pretty amazing that Brooks had the courage to make that decision.”
However, Matsuyama also revealed that he was “puzzled” by the situation, especially the lack of communication from the PGA Tour about the Returning Member Program.
“But I’m puzzled that the PGA Tour didn’t explain anything to the players. At the very least, I didn’t know that such a rule was in place,” he said.
He then explained his confusion about why Koepka was allowed to circumvent the one-year ban for playing on LIV Golf.
“While there has been a financial hit, what about the non-monetary aspects? What happened to the rule that players who participated in LIV were not allowed to compete [on the PGA Tour] for a year?” Matsuyama said. “That’s what I’m thinking about more.”
The issue is somewhat personal for Matsuyama, who turned down a lucrative offer from LIV Golf in 2022, in part because of the consequences it would have on his PGA Tour future. Wyndham Clark, who also turned down a LIV Golf offer, made a similar criticism of Koepka’s return last week.
He continued his criticism of the PGA Tour, saying, “We are the players, after all. The PGA Tour makes the decisions. It doesn’t matter what anyone says.”
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