Playing Through: Brooks Koepka Returns, Sony Open Favorites, and New York Bounces Back in TGL
Welcome to Playing Through, your weekly guide to the world of professional golf. I’m Brendon Elliott, PGA Professional. Brooks Koepka is coming back to the PGA TOUR, the Sony Open tees off this week in Hawaii, and New York Golf Club finally got their first win of the season. Let’s get into it.
BROOKS KOEPKA IS BACK
The PGA TOUR just made its biggest move of the year, and the season hasn’t even started yet.
Brooks Koepka is returning to the PGA TOUR. He’ll make his comeback at the Farmers Insurance Open later this month, then head to the WM Phoenix Open, a tournament he’s won twice.
This isn’t just another player coming back. This is a five-time major champion, a guy who won the 2023 PGA Championship, returning under a newly created Returning Member Program that the TOUR built specifically for situations like this.
The cost? Koepka forfeits five years of equity in the Player Equity Program. That’s an estimated $50-85 million he’s leaving on the table, depending on how he plays and how the TOUR grows. He also agreed to a $5 million charitable contribution. He won’t receive any payment from the 2026 FedExCup Bonus Program, and he has to play a minimum of 15 events this season.
Those aren’t slap-on-the-wrist penalties. That’s real money and real consequences.
The program itself has strict criteria. You had to have been away from the TOUR for at least two years. You had to have won THE PLAYERS, the Masters, the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open, or The Open Championship between 2022 and 2025. That’s it. That’s the list.
The window to apply closes February 2. After that, there’s no guarantee this path exists again.
PGA TOUR CEO Brian Rolapp made it clear in his letter to fans: “You all want the best players in the world competing against each other more often.” The research backs that up. Fans demanded it. The TOUR responded.
Tiger Woods, who sits on the Policy Board and the Future Competitions Committee, put it simply: “We get a probably top-three-of-his-generation player back that went to another tour, played over there, and was adamant about coming back here and got out early to come back. That says a lot about the PGA TOUR, where we’re headed, what we have done, what we accomplished.”
Fields will expand to accommodate returning members. No current player loses a spot. Koepka can qualify for Signature Events through the Aon Next 10, Aon Swing 5, or by winning, but he can’t get sponsor exemptions into those events. He can earn FedExCup points and qualify for the Playoffs, but his ranking won’t affect anyone else’s qualification or 2027 eligibility.
The program isn’t a precedent. It’s a response to a unique situation. But it’s also a statement about where the TOUR is headed: toward the best players competing together, with consequences that matter and a structure that protects the players who stayed.
Koepka’s return changes the landscape immediately. The fields get deeper. The competition gets tougher. And the TOUR gets closer to what fans have been asking for all along.
SONY OPEN FAVORITES: WHO’S READY TO WIN IN HAWAII
The 2026 season kicks off this week at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu for the Sony Open. The purse is $9.1 million, the course plays as a par-70 at 7,044 yards, and 120 players are fighting for 500 FedExCup points and a winner’s check of $1.638 million.
This tournament matters more than ever under the TOUR’s new structure. Only the top 100 in FedExCup points keep full status. That makes every tournament count, especially the early ones.
Waialae is a shot-maker’s course. It’s a Seth Raynor design with thick Bermuda rough, firm fairways, and large greens that demand precision. The average winning score hovers around 19-under, but don’t let that fool you. This course punishes mistakes.
Denny McCarthy described it best: “Fairways are really firm. You get the crosswinds. Bermuda rough is up. Just involves a lot of thinking, course management, which is more suited to my game.”
You can’t overpower Waialae. It’s tight, it turns with doglegs, and even well-struck drives can roll through the fairways. The profile that wins here is clear: accurate drivers who keep it in the fairway and elite wedge players who can consistently give themselves makeable birdie looks.
Russell Henley leads the favorites. He won this event in his rookie debut in 2013, and he’s been dominant here ever since. Since 2021, he’s 5-for-5 with four top-11 finishes at Waialae. He hits 68% of fairways, ranks third in distance from the edge of the fairway when he misses, and was first in proximity from 75-100 yards last year. That’s exactly where most approaches come from at Waialae. He also won the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Bermuda last season. It’s hard to find a better course fit.
J.J. Spaun is coming off an absurd 2025 that included a U.S. Open win. He led outright entering last year’s finale at Waialae before settling for T3. He also finished T12 here in 2023. He should’ve won this tournament in 2024, and he’s back with a chip on his shoulder.
Hideki Matsuyama won at Waialae in 2022 and just closed out 2025 with a win at the Hero World Challenge. He also had top-10s in South Korea and Japan in the fall, so there’s momentum. He thrives in the 150-200 yard approach range, which is critical at Waialae.
Nick Taylor is the defending champion and returns for his 10th start at Waialae. His recent history here is ridiculous: first (2025), T7 (2024), T7 (2023), and T11 (2021). His scoring average over those four years was 66.25. He’s trying to become the first player to successfully defend at the Sony Open since Jimmy Walker in 2015.
Keegan Bradley had a magnificent 2025 despite the distractions of being named Ryder Cup captain. With focus sharpened in 2026, Waialae is a warm welcome. He’s finished T2-T6 here since 2024.
Ben Griffin won three times in 2025, including the World Wide Technology Championship. He’s 3-for-3 at Waialae with 12 rounds of par or better.
Robert MacIntyre continued his ascent in the fall with a win at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and two more top-10s to wrap the DP World Tour season. This is his third appearance at Waialae, and he’s balanced in every category.
The field also includes 22 first-time members and 20 rookies. Since the late 1970s, only Russell Henley, in 2013, has been the only rookie and tournament debutant to win at Waialae. Experience matters here.
Trade winds from northeasterly directions are forecast to blow throughout the first three days, which favors ball-strikers. Breezes could abate by Sunday. Daytime temps will climb into the mid-70s.
The winner gets a membership exemption through at least 2028, spots in the Masters, THE PLAYERS Championship, and the PGA Championship, and guaranteed entry into all eight Signature Events.
NEW YORK BOUNCES BACK WITH DOMINANT WIN OVER JUPITER
New York Golf Club finally got its first win of the season Tuesday night at SoFi Center, dominating Jupiter Links Golf Club 8-3 after overcoming an early 3-1 deficit.
Rickie Fowler sealed the match with a 14-foot birdie putt worth two points at No. 13, rising to the challenge of a Jupiter Hammer throw and snapping a three-match losing streak for New York dating back to last season.
New York was completely dialed in strategically, outscoring Jupiter 7-0 over the final 11 holes. They earned four points via the Hammer and played lights out down the stretch. Jupiter falls to 0-1 in their season debut, while New York improves to 1-1 and gets right back into the postseason picture.
Tiger Woods joined Jupiter in a non-playing role, and he was heavily involved all night in strategy decisions and general banter. He didn’t last long before throwing the Hammer at the first hole when Jupiter had the upper hand. New York declined, Jupiter went up 1-0, and it was fist-bumps all around for a Jupiter team that had never led first in a match.
But that momentum didn’t last.
Trailing 3-1, New York ripped off wins with pars at Nos. 5 and 6 to make it 3-3 as Jupiter struggled on the green. Then Kevin Kisner let the shot clock expire before his 34-foot birdie attempt, leading to a one-stroke penalty (only the second shot clock violation ever in TGL). That sparked a 4-0 run for New York to take a 5-3 lead into Singles.
New York took its first lead of the match at the eighth with a well-timed Hammer throw. Jupiter declined to fall behind 4-3. They threw the Hammer again on their Team Hole, “Big Apple,” which Jupiter also declined to make it 5-3 entering Singles.
From there, it was all New York. They carried the 6-3 lead into Singles and padded it over the final six holes, a significant showing considering total holes won serves as the postseason tiebreaker.
Matt Fitzpatrick has to be an early contender for TGL’s most improved player. He’s now 3-0-1 in Singles for Season 2 after failing to win a Singles hole all of last year. Fitzpatrick chose to take on the toughest of three fairways at “Loot on the Line,” striping a drive down the middle en route to birdie to give New York a 6-3 lead at No. 11. He also hit one of the best shots of the night at “Stinger,” becoming the first player to clear the overhanging rock with a driver on a shot that barely got off the ground.
Fowler, making his first competitive drive since August, came through when it mattered most. “No. 1 was my first real competitive drive since August,” Fowler said. “I’ve been enjoying the dad life and some recovery and time at home.”
Woods summed up Jupiter’s performance with typical honesty: “We were the ‘Bad News Bears,’ and we don’t want to be the ‘Bad News Bears 2.’ No more sequels here.”
Jupiter gets a chance to turn things around immediately. They’re back in action at 7 p.m. next Tuesday (January 20) against the Los Angeles Golf Club. New York returns to action at 5 p.m. ET on February 24 in a matchup with The Bay Golf Club.
Will Ferrell was also there with hilarious TGL intros, because of course he was.
Brooks Koepka is back. The Sony Open kicks off the season in Hawaii. And New York finally got their first win in TGL.
The 2026 season is officially underway.
We’ll be back next week.