Report: Brooks Koepka's golf coach disagreed with decision to rip up LIV contract

Brooks Koepka's coach has revealed he disagreed with the golfer's decision to rip up his LIV contract early.

Had Koepka honoured his reported $100m, five-year contract, the American would be entering the first men's major of the year as one of 10 LIV Golf players in the field at the 2026 Masters. 

Instead, the 35-year-old American will tee up at Augusta National on Thursday at 18:20 GMT alongside former Masters champion Jordan Spieth and last year's runner-up, Justin Rose, as a PGA Tour member. 

Related:

• Masters tee times 2026

Among other terms, Koepka made a $5m charitable donation to return to the North American circuit and has so far struggled to find any real consistency with his game - particularly on the putting surfaces. 

From six six starts, Koepka has only cracked the top 10 once and has missed two cuts. He arrives here this week hoping to make amends from a missed cut 12 months ago. 

Koepka's golf coach, the legendary Peter Cowen, told The Times of London on the eve of the 2026 Masters Tournament that the five-times major winner is much happier since returning to the PGA Tour.  

But he appeared to indicate that he disagreed with Koepka's decision to call time on his excursion to LIV early. 

"If you sign a contract, I think you should honour it," Cowen told the paper. 

Cowen, who has often read the riot act to his students over the years, also revealed that he gave Koepka another "reality check" a few weeks ago at his Florida base as he prepped for his 11th tilt at the green jacket. 

"I said [to him], 'Right, no excuses now. You've done what you wanted, so let's just go and play good golf.'"

Despite hitting the ball well and "trending" in the right direction, Cowen believes Koepka may have to wait until later in the summer for it all to click. 

"If not at The Masters, I would expect him to be competing very highly in all the majors," Cowen said. 

"The Masters might be a little soon, but the freshness could help him. There's no doubt he'll definitely be up for it."

Patrick Reed expands on decision to quit LIV Golf

Like Koepka, Patrick Reed also decided to quit LIV Golf. 

The only difference for Reed, however, was that the former Masters champion was out of contract. 

Reed will have to wait until later in the year until he tees up on the PGA Tour again, with the co-sanctioned Scottish Open a week before The Open at Royal Birkdale likely to be his first start since his controversial exit.  

Ahead of this year's Masters, the 2018 champion opened up on why he wanted back in. 

"Captain America" revealed that he missed the adrenaline of competing as an individual. 

Victory at the Dubai Desert Classic in January saw Reed wanting more. 

"When I stood there in Dubai, the entire range is full, and then guys just start disappearing and you're the last man on that tee box," he said. 

"You're walking to the tee, you're the last name announced, and you've lost the lead because someone is five-under through eight.

"All those rushes and scenarios, going back into playing golf that way, where you're going out there and you're having the battles between not just yourself, but the other guys on the leaderboard. 

"I wanted that back. I wanted that adrenaline back and those feelings."

He added: "The best players in the world and the deepest fields from top to bottom are on the PGA Tour.

"I've played now every tour. I've played on every single one of them. 

"That's the place that I feel like is best for us to go and compete against the top guys year in and year out, week in and week out."

Who are the LIV Golf players in the field at the 2026 Masters?

• Jon Rahm
• Dustin Johnson
• Bubba Watson
• Sergio Garcia
• Bryson DeChambeau
• Cameron Smith
• Charl Schwartzel
• Tyrrell Hatton
• Carlos Ortiz
• Tom McKibbin

Phil Mickelson withdrew from the 2026 Masters for personal reasons.