The PGA Tour didn’t exactly roll out the red carpet for Brooks Koepka upon his return. While that was expected, whether for the Tour to save face after punishing the breach of loyalty or to set a precedent, as Brandel Chamblee said, it now seems the PGA Tour is backtracking.

As reported by Brentley Romine on X, the PGA Tour has announced that the TOUR Championship purse would no longer be a part of the bonus pool. “The Tour announced today that the Tour Championship purse will no longer be considered part of the FEC bonus pool but rather official money,” Romine writes. “Meaning should Koepka qualify for East Lake, he could win a share of the $40 million purse, including the $10 million first-place prize.”

Part of Koepka’s punishment, which equals almost $85 M, as per the Tour’s new Returning Member Program, is that he will not be eligible to accumulate any FedExCup bonus money this year. Given that, the FedExCup bonus pool sits at nearly $100 M, so restrictions do carry massive financial implications. This situation has also left him slightly disappointed. But now the Tour’s simultaneous change materially changes the ex-LIV golfer’s ceiling this season.

In plain terms: if Brooks Koepka qualifies for East Lake, he can still win a share of the $40 M TOUR Championship purse. That also includes the $10 M first-place prize. This money will be paid as official earnings and will be completely different from the bonus pool. So, to be clear, it is not a softening done just for Koepka. But this does open doors for him to the single richest tournament purse on the PGA Tour calendar.

To make sense of all the changes, one needs to look at the PGA Tour’s broader playoff revamp. This year, the FedExCup bonus pool will be paid after the BMW Championship. Earlier, it was given towards the end of the TOUR Championship. So only the top 125 players – which is down from the 150 – will receive the bonus money. The FedExCup points leader at that stage will earn $23 M.

And this matters because the TOUR Championship itself will be changing. Now, there will be no starting strokes and no points reset. That means the entire field of 30 will play a straight 72-hole shootout. There will be no head start for higher-ranked players, as was done before.

These aren’t the only changes being made to the playoffs, as the FedExCup points are also being adjusted

Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports

Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports

A reduction of the FedExCup points: Another opening for Brooks Koepka?

“Other notable changes, along with this news sees the first two playoff events each awarding 750 FedExCup points to the winner, down from 2,000,” writes Brentley Romine on his X account.

Yes, points are also being scaled back in the playoffs. Winners of the FedEx St. Jude Championship and the BMW Championship will now receive 750 points. These changes are designed to align these events with the major championship. This aims to reduce volatility that previously allowed a single hot week to decide the entire trajectory of the standings.

To put it into perspective, there was a 4,209-point gap between World No. 1 Scottie

Scheffler and World No. 70 Matti Schmid in 2025. Yet, the difference between No. 30 and No. 70 was just 472 points. Under this system, a win or a runner-up finish can propel a player into the top 30. However, the results of the regular season will carry more weight in determining who receives payment from the bonus pool.

For Koepka, the relief stops there. The remaining penalties are still substantial. He remains ineligible for the Players’ Equity Program for five years. He is also required to donate $5 to a charity, and he still cannot receive any sponsor exemptions into the Signature Events. This means he will have to earn his entry through Aon Next 10, Aon Swing 5, or via world ranking.