Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka became the first player to defect from LIV Golf, a significant blow to the Saudi-funded league that raises questions whether the PGA Tour will find a way for him to return.
LIV Golf posted an announcement to its website under a statement that Talor Gooch is the new captain of the Smash team that Koepka had led.
Scott O'Neil, the new CEO of LIV, said Koepka and LIV “amicably and mutually agreed” that Koepka will no longer compete in the league.
“Brooks is prioritizing the needs of his family and staying closer to home,” O'Neil said. “We appreciate the significant impact he has had on the game and wish him continued success, both on and off the course.”
LIV does not disclose contracts, though it was believed Koepka had another year left from when he joined in June 2022.
The PGA Tour policy banning players who have joined the rival league requires them to sit out for one year from their last participation. LIV ended its season on Aug. 24.
Koepka began his career on the European tour and would have access to play there. He played four European tour events this year, finishing fourth in the French Open a week before the Ryder Cup. He played in the 2023 Ryder Cup, but was not a consideration this year because of his form.
Blake Smith, Koepka's manager at Hambric Sports, said there would be no comment beyond a statement released through LIV Golf that Koepka is grateful for his time at LIV.
“Family has always guided Brooks’s decisions, and he feels this is the right moment to spend more time at home,” the statement said. “Brooks will continue to be a huge supporter of LIV Golf and wishes the league and its players continued success. Brooks remains passionate about the game of golf and will keep fans updated on what’s ahead.”
The PGA Tour, while not offering any substance, took the rare step of acknowledging the move involving a player who is no longer a member.
“Brooks Koepka is a highly accomplished professional, and we wish him and his family continued success,” the tour said in a statement. “The PGA Tour continues to offer the best professional golfers the most competitive, challenging and lucrative environment in which to pursue greatness.”
Koepka had alerted the PGA Tour of his plans before the LIV announcement, according to one person aware of communication. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because it has not been publicly disclosed.
The first step for Koepka to return would be to re-apply for membership. He was not among the LIV players who were part of the antitrust lawsuit filed against the PGA Tour in 2022.
Koepka, who spent 47 weeks at No. 1 in the world in 2018 and 2019, was one of the biggest signings by LIV when it launched in 2022. He had been coping with injuries and later suggested he might not have joined had his health been better.
He had been part of a meeting at the 2022 U.S. Open with top PGA Tour players a week earlier encouraging them to rally around the tour. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan had even gone to Koepka's wedding in the Caribbean weeks before he jumped over to LIV.
Koepka was the first LIV player to win a major in 2023 when he won the PGA Championship at Oak Hill for his fifth major. Bryson DeChambeau won the U.S. Open the following year.
Koepka won five times on LIV Golf, but he had only two top 10s — his best was a runner-up — in 2025 and finished 31st in the standings of the 54-man circuit. He missed the cut in five of the eight tournaments he played outside LIV this year, including three majors.
A blunt speaker, Koepka had expressed frustration earlier in the year that LIV wasn't as far along as he hoped it would be.
His departure leaves DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, both two-time major champions, as the biggest draws in the league that also includes Ryder Cup player Tyrrell Hatton.
LIV did not say how Koepka would be replaced. The league has signed only Victor Perez and Laurie Canter for the 2026 season, which starts in February in Saudi Arabia. It has a “promotions” tournament in January where two players can gain entry into LIV.
The league also is awaiting word on its application to become part of the Official World Golf Ranking system. One of the sticking points has been LIV selecting players for its circuit, which is different from the other tours that are part of the ranking system.
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FILE - Brooks Koepka, of the United States, acknowledges the crowd on the 5th green during the first round of the British Open golf championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison, File)
ATLANTA (AP) — Three inmates who escaped from a jail east of Atlanta, including a murder suspect, commandeered a terrified Lyft driver's car to reach south Florida before she was rescued and they were captured, according to details revealed in court records.
The driver told FBI agents that the men used a fake name to order the ride, put a rope around her neck from behind her, dragged her into the backseat and threatened to kill her, according to a court affidavit filed late Tuesday and obtained by The Associated Press.
The inmates were able to “compromise” a portion of a cell inside the DeKalb County Jail to make their escape, said DeKalb County Chief Deputy Temetris Atkins. He didn't provide more specifics because jailers don't want other inmates to know the facility's weaknesses.
“We repaired the area that was compromised, and we’re looking at other areas that are similar to that to fortify them to make sure that they are not compromised in the same manner,” Atkins said at a Tuesday news conference.
DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox described the jail as an “aging facility that’s deteriorating right before our eyes.” The jail is in Decatur, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) east of downtown Atlanta.
The escape was discovered early Monday during a routine security check, authorities said. After jailers realized the three were gone, investigators listened to recordings of conversations they'd had on recorded phone lines. They learned that one of the inmates had contacted people on the outside who helped them evade capture after the escape, U.S. Marshal Thomas Brown said.
The inmates were picked up by an unnamed man and taken to one of their girlfriends’ homes, Brown said. Then, a Lyft ride was ordered using a fake, female name.
Officers tracked the car as it traveled to south Florida with the aid of license plate readers, devices that can alert law enforcement to the locations of wanted vehicles. When they caught up with the car and tried to stop it, one of the inmates jumped out and ran but was arrested along with a second inmate, according to a court affidavit.
Investigators also learned that the men used the Lyft driver's credit card for a short-term rental of a home in Miramar, Florida, where officers apprehended the third inmate and rescued the driver, court records state.
The driver told investigators that she was held in the car for six to 10 hours as they tried to gain access to her phone and online banking records. After trying to escape once, she endured “increased threats of being shot, raped, and tortured,” an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit.
“As you can imagine, the Lyft driver is very traumatized by this,” Brown said.
All three inmates were charged with kidnapping as well as the escape, according to criminal complaints.
A lawyer with the Federal Public Defender's Office in Fort Lauderdale appointed to represent one of the men, 24-year-old Stevenson Charles, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Tuesday evening, nor did a Miami attorney representing a second, Naod Yohannes, 25. There was no lawyer listed in court records for the third, Yusuf Minor, 31.
Charles was being held before the escape on charges including murder and armed robbery. The other two faced charges including armed robbery and arson.
The sheriff’s office had warned that the men might be armed and were considered dangerous after their escape.
Before they were captured, federal authorities had issued particularly strong warnings advising the citizens to be wary of Charles, who has had several run-ins with law officers in Georgia and Florida. He had been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to multiple counts of kidnapping and bank robbery, a federal agent wrote in a Monday affidavit regarding the recent jail escape.
After being sentenced, the agent wrote, Charles was turned over to DeKalb County authorities on Dec. 5 to face the murder charge, details of which were not immediately available.
In one of multiple cases involving Charles in South Florida, he is accused of meeting a man through the Grindr online dating application and then pulling a gun on him when they met in person at a Miami residence in 2022. Charles then drove the man to various Miami area banks, withdrawing money from the victim’s accounts, court records show.
DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox speaks to journalists Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, during a news conference in Decatur, Ga., about the escaped inmates who were captured late Monday. (Ben Gray /Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox speaks to journalists Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, during a news conference in Decatur, Ga., about the escaped inmates who were captured late Monday. (Ben Gray /Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
U.S. Marshal Thomas Brown speaks to journalists Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, during a press conference in Decatur, Ga., about the escaped inmates who were captured late Monday. (Ben Gray /Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
