Live and Leave LIV

Well, well, lookie here. Two PGA Tour expatriates are now returning to the fold after wandering in the LIV desert for several years. I would refer to the two of them, Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed, as prodigal sons except for the fact that they left the PGA Tour for far more riches than the New Testament prodigal son enjoyed, and didn’t set off for a distant country (well, almost) and there squander their wealth in wild living (unlike Mike Tyson and other sports notables who lost fortunes.) Koepka and Reed are returning to the PGA Tour pursuant to a byzantine set of requirements for LIV golfers to return to the PGA Tour. (The PGA Tour euphemistically calls it the “Returning Member Program”.) For Koepka, in addition to meeting the stringent requirements imposed by the PGA Tour, the return  involves the payment of $5 million donation to charity,  which he appears glad to remit in order to return to the Tour (which he did two weeks ago at Torrey Pines.) In the meantime, perhaps inspired by his good fortune, Reed s tearing up the DP World Tour with his second win in the last three tournaments with a victory in the Qatar Masters this  weekend.

The criteria established by the PGA Tour pursuant to which LIV golfers may return are:

Program eligibility

ELIGIBLE PLAYERS: Open to players who have participated in Unauthorized Tournaments, have not been a member for a minimum of two (2) years and have won THE PLAYERS, Masters, U.S. Open, PGA Championship and/or The Open Championship in the years 2022-2025.

Golfers participating in the Returning Member Program are eligible to earn Official and Unofficial Prize Money (including prize money at the TOUR Championship) and for other Member Benefit Programs (pending eligibility).  They are NOT eligible to receive payment from the Earnings Assurance Program and Recurring Equity Grants under the Player Equity Program for five years (2026-2030). They will  not receive any payment from the 2026 FedExCup Bonus Program (Regular Season payout following the BMW Championship). However, Golf.com reports that a rules tweak the PGA Tour announced recently  changes the equation for Koepka.

As part of an adjustment to the FedEx Cup points allocation, the Tour Championship’s $40 million purse is now “Official Money,” which is separate from the “FedEx Cup bonus pool.” Koepka is eligible to play his way into the FedEx Cup Playoffs. While he will not be able to collect any of the FedEx Cup bonus money, he will be able to compete for the $40 million purse at the Tour Championship should he play his way to East Lake.

Consequently, Koepka (and presumably Reed) is required to pay a steep financial penalty as part of his return to the tour. In the wake of the foregoing, the PGA Tour estimates Koepka will miss out on between $50 million and $85 million in potential earnings. The Tour called it “one of the largest financial repercussions in professional sports history,” in an open letter from PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp.

Interestingly enough, the requirements of the returning member program are tailored with a laser-like focus. Sportco.com reported that:

The reinstatement program allows golfers who have been away from the PGA Tour for at least two years to apply for a return under certain conditions and penalties. Yet, the program is only open to golfers who have won the Players Championship or one of the four majors since 2022. In addition to Koepka, the only other LIV golfers who meet that criteria are 2024 U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau, 2023 Masters champion Jon Rahm and 2022 Players Championship and British Open winner Cameron Smith.

Conspicuous by the absence of requirements allowing a particular PGA turncoat to qualify for the returning members program, the one and only drling of the tour galleries, Phil Mickelson. And you thought the Saudis were scary mothers, Phil?

One final thought: If either Koepka or Reed are invited to visit the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey at any time in the near future for a Saudi Golf League reception, I would respectfully decline the invitation if I were either of them.

Copyright R.E. Kelly 2012-2026

AMDG

Empathy Is Not A Sin 

Bobby

 

  

 

May he rest in peace.  He will  be sorely missed.

Read his obituary from his family here

Then God way up in Heaven, for whatever it was worth
Thought He'd have a big old party, thought He'd call it Planet Earth
Don't worry about tomorrow, Lord, you'll know it when it comes
When the rock and roll music meets the rising, shining sun.

Copyright R.E. Kelly 2012-2026

AMDG

Empathy Is Not A Sin 

 

 

 

 

 

For Auld Lang Syne

I have posted about this special topic before, but forgive me if I beg your indulgence once again. It bears repeating as we leave another horrible year  behind and move forward to a new, more hopeful one.  And as the words urge, please remember to take a cup of kindness while you are it; our society sorely needs it.

Whether the world knows it or not, a large swath of humanity pays homage to Robert Burns, the poet laureate of Scotland, when celebrating the New Year.  His poem and song, Auld Lang Syne, written in 1788, was sung at midnight by hundreds of millions of people around the globe, and I would guess that only a minuscule percentage of those revelers will know who wrote it and what it means. (The phrase Auld Lang Syne can be roughly translated as “old times” or “days gone by”.)

While I could find no reference to Robert Burns playing golf during a quick trip through the Internet, I believe he was a sportsman, as he was a member of the Royal Company of Archers in 1792.  And Burns was born in Ayrshire, home of several of the world’s greatest courses (Royal Troon, Turnberry and Prestwick Golf Club, the home of the first Open Championship).  

The best-laid schemes...

While the game of golf predates Auld Lang Syne by centuries (the first documented mention of golf in Scotland appears in a 1457 Act of the Scottish Parliament, an edict issued by King James II of Scotland prohibiting the playing of the games of golf and football  as these were a distraction from archery practice for military purposes) it’s hard to imagine a true Scotsman who does not (and for many centuries did not) have golf in his blood.  So give a passing thought to Rabbie (not Rabbi) Burns after  you drunkenly warble his melancholy tribute to days gone by at midnight on New Year's Eve, and dream later of making memories in the future from rounds of golf shared with family and friends.

Here are the original words to perhaps the world’s most famous poem (translation not provided; easy to find on the Internet, or simply use your imagination):

 

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne.?

 

CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my jo,
for auld lang syne,
we'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

 

And surely ye'll be your pint-stoup!
and surely I'll be mine!
And we'll tak' a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

 

CHORUS

We twa hae run about the braes,
and pou'd the gowans fine;
But we've wander'd mony a weary fit,
sin' auld lang syne.

 

CHORUS

We twa hae paidl'd in the burn,
frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
sin' auld lang syne.

Happy New Year!!

Copyright R.E. Kelly 2012-2026

AMDG

Empathy Is Not A Sin