Just over a week ago, the US PGA Tour revealed its new marketing slogan for 2026, in a short ad that spun around the internet: “Where the best belong”.

The ad contained the faces and voices of the tour’s biggest names – read superstar pair Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler – selling the prestige and history of the PGA Tour, but the most interesting face shown was the last one. It was a smiling Brooks Koepka.

Koepka’s appearance was fleeting, but for seasoned golf watchers there was no missing it. Nor the symbolism of the Tour’s new tagline rolling on screen soon after.

Koepka was reportedly a last-minute addition to the edit, following the five-time major winner’s announcement in late December he was leaving LIV Golf and returning to the PGA Tour.

His return is unquestionably the biggest move in the golf wars since the Saudi-backed LIV Golf upturned world golf by poaching many of the PGA Tour’s stars in 2022 for trailer-loads of cash.

Koepka was one of those superstars, along with Aussie Cam Smith, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson. The 35-year-old was reportedly paid US$100 million ($140 million) to sign on, and most of the star brigade earned similar (though still unconfirmed) amounts.

Brooks Koepka during a practice round ahead of PGA Tour return this week.Credit: Getty Images

LIV Golf, with a disruptor model of playing only 54 holes, and with four-man teams, shorts, festival vibes and a global fixture list, was initially viewed as an existential threat to the PGA Tour. Friendships ended, bans were handed down and bad blood flowed.

But the established tour responded by beefing up its own prizemoney and financial rewards for........

© The Sydney Morning Herald