Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler sees the return of LIV Golf players to the PGA Tour as a start to having the world’s best talent competing beyond major events. Scheffler, who won his 20th career PGA Tour title two weeks ago, returns this week to the site of his first victory at the Phoenix Open. Scheffler won his 2026 season opener at the PGA American Express and seeks another crown at TPC Scottsdale, where he and five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, back from LIV, will compete.
“I think people want the best people playing together again, so when it comes to great players like Brooks or Patrick Reed, having those guys competing out here is great for the tour, great for the fans, and great for our sponsors,” Scheffler said. “The last few years there has just been a lot of the noise, and so I think getting those guys back is another step towards us just being able to play golf again.” Reed, the 2018 Masters champion, plans a PGA return from LIV next fall. Scheffler has won four majors since a breakthrough 2022 Phoenix win.
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“It doesn’t feel all that long ago, but at the same time, it feels like quite a bit of time has passed since then,” Scheffler said. “Lots of good memories. It’s fun to be able to play in front of this crowd.” Scheffler hurt his hand making a meal last season but is healthy now. “I got off to a nice start at the American Express,” he said. “So it’s exciting, but I’ve always been at my best when I’m trying to stay present and focusing to get a little bit better each day. Definitely a lot easier starting off that way instead of missing the first few tournaments due to hand surgery.” Did a bit less cooking in the offseason this year. Stuck to plastic silverware instead of metal stuff,” he joked.
Koepka, who made his PGA return last week at Torrey Pines, won his first PGA title at Phoenix in 2015 and won again in 2021. “Obviously winning it twice helps. Any time you win twice on a golf course, you’re going to feel pretty good and pretty comfortable,” Koepka said. “Hopefully a good week this week. It’s just good to be back. Good to see some golf courses I’m familiar with, know where to hit it, and have some familiarity with them. I think that’s a huge thing.”
Koepka said he hasn’t had hard talks with players unhappy with his return. “I haven’t had any difficult ones. Just happy to see you back, we’re glad you’re back, type things. But then again, there’s a lot of guys, I mean I’m only nine days into this. There’s still a lot of guys I haven’t seen.”
World number 16 Viktor Hovland, whose most recent PGA triumph came in last March’s Valspar Championship, welcomes stronger competition but the Norwegian warns the PGA Tour has issues to consider. “It does kind of put the tour in a tricky position now,” he said. “You’ve said one thing for a long time and now we’re changing things. What precedent are you setting then for future players now if I can go to a rival tour, get paid, and now seemingly come back again without the biggest consequences? I don’t really have an opinion on that. That’s something the tour has to figure out. I’m sure there’s a lot of people not going to be super happy about that, but I just want to compete against the best players in the world.”
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