Brooks Koepka is back on the PGA Tour this week at the Farmers Insurance Open, and predictably the Tour and its broadcast partners are leaning all the way in.
Koepka is one of four “Featured Groups” put together by the Tour to maximize star power in its broadcast windows, and the former LIV Golf player’s first round is landing in ESPN’s broadcast window (noon to 3 p.m. ET) on Thursday.
This week will be the first time ESPN’s linear network has aired the first two rounds of a regular Tour event in nearly 20 years. Its broadcast will also be available on Hulu and Disney+.
Koepka is playing with Ludvig Åberg and Max Homa in the first two rounds. Åberg, 26, turned pro a year after Koepka left for LIV Golf but the two have some on-course history from the 2023 Ryder Cup. Åberg and partner Viktor Hovland delivered a historic 9-and-7 rout of Koepka and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler in a foursomes match, then Koepka got a small measure of revenge in defeating
Åberg 3 and 2 in Sunday singles.
Homa is a closer contemporary to Koepka, both are 35 years old.
Brooks is back and in this week's Featured Groups!
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 26, 2026
Koepka joins past Torrey Pines champions Max Homa and Ludvig Åberg.
📺 Watch @FarmersInsOpen on @ESPN/@PGATOURLIVE starting on Thursday, Jan. 29. pic.twitter.com/k5jKffb4Xo
The former captain of Smash GC announced on Dec. 23 that he would no longer play on LIV Golf and three weeks later was back on the PGA Tour via a “Returning Member Program,” allowing the five-time major champion to come back with restrictions. Among the restrictions is the fact he can’t play in Tour signature events unless he qualifies, meaning for now he’ll play in events such as the Farmers and next week’s WM Phoenix Open, where he’s a two-time champion.
Koepka is also not taking the spot of another Tour player in returning to competition. The Farmers is a 144-player event, playing over two courses in the first two rounds (Torrey Pines’s North and South courses) but adding Koepka as well as two more players from its alternate list in order to fill out threesomes.
At the WM Phoenix Open, the field is 120 players and that same rule will apply. Koepka will be added and two more players off the alternate list will bring the field to 123 players.
More Golf from Sports Illustrated
- Farmers Insurance Open Betting Preview: Picks, Predictions, Odds for Torrey Pines
- LIV Golf’s New Season Is Almost Here, but One Key Piece Remains Unknown
- 2026 Farmers Insurance Open Full Field: Brooks Koepka’s Return to the PGA Tour
- 2026 PGA Tour Schedule: Complete Dates, Winners, Purses
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Brooks Koepka’s Historic Return to the PGA Tour Is Getting Top Billing.
