Pat Perez details why he can’t rejoin PGA Tour in 2026 like Patrick Reed

Perez signed with LIV in 2022 and stayed for the following two seasons. He then moved into broadcasting in 2025, making the length of his penalty all the more surprising.

Speaking on Subpar, the 49-year-old gave some context to why he will not be eligible to return until later than others.

“So those guys resigned from the tour. I didn’t resign because I didn’t want to resign. I just didn’t know exactly what was going to happen,” he revealed.

“The way I looked at it was if you resigned from the tour, that means they’re going to have to reinstate you at some point. They don’t actually have to do that, and the way it looked at that point, it didn’t look like they were ever going to do that, or want to do that. So I just thought, you know what, I won’t resign, I’ll let it go.

“But then finding out when I didn’t sign the papers you sign every year in ’23, you were already not a member. So I’m actually paying the penalty for playing those tournaments.

“Those guys resigned, so they don’t face any penalty because they weren’t members. It’s like this loophole type thing where you resign and now you don’t face any penalties because you fall into this non-member category, but then you get to come back.

“They basically told me if you had resigned, you’d be able to play in August.”

After welcoming Koepka back, the PGA Tour needed to draw a line somewhere

The situation does feel a bit uneven. While the PGA Tour managed Koepka’s return fairly well, there is no getting around the fact that more effort went into making sure the top names could come back.

Perez is near the end of his playing days and mostly looking at PGA Tour Champions events now. So letting him join in some of the autumn tournaments would not have really impacted much.

The tour found itself in a tricky spot, even if it was one many would envy. They needed to make it clear that leaving for LIV had consequences, but when someone like Koepka is available, it is hard to say no.

As a result, it seems there is less room for flexibility when it comes to players outside that top tier.