LIV Golf professionals will no longer play tournaments on LIV Golf.
But could they soon be playing on the PGA Tour?
At the moment, the answer depends on how you define it coming soon.
That’s what it looks like things are after LIV said on Thursday that the league will not restructure after the loss of its one-time financier, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, and that it was stretching, going towards complete liquidation. When contacted by GOLF.com, a PGA Tour spokesman was brief, saying the league did not have a statement “at this time,” but the official referred to a couple of previous statements made by Tour CEO Brian Rolapp that may offer hints at what may be coming.
In mid-September, while announcing the details of a new format coming to the PGA Tour in 2028, Rolapp affirmed that the Tour will not reintroduce its “Returning Member Program” to bring back one-time professionals who joined LIV. Presumably then, those professionals will continue to face a one-year suspension – and will not be brought back quickly under a series of fines and penalties, as was outlined in January below. returning member program. Only Brooks Koepka took the offer, although under his specifications, it was also available to Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith.
But could there be other paths to play on the PGA Tour in 2027? At the PGA Tour’s Championship in August, Rolapp was asked that, and in response, he said that the Tour, “up to this point,” had not made any decisions. He also said that any player interested in playing on the Tour needs to “show that he is released from his contractual obligations or any tail obligation that he might have in that legacy model,” which Rolapp said Koepka had done.
Since those statements, several players have left LIV ahead of Thursday’s announcement from the league. Now the whole league will not exist. In addition to the PGA Tour, other tours could be in play for the ex-LIV pros, including the DP World Tour, a route that Masters winner Patrick Reed took this year. After his season, the DP World Tour will award PGA Tour cards to the top 10 finishers in its annual points race, and Reed is currently No. 2 on that list.
During the September press conference, Rolapp also said that there are “really three things when it comes to who wants to compete on the PGA Tour.”
“One, the PGA Tour is built on meritocracy,” he said. “Every player, whether they are a member or want to become one, must earn their place. Two, we are a membership organization; we have rules, and rules exist for many reasons, including fairness and competitive balance. Rules matter, and they must be enforced.
“Which brings me to number three, accountability and discipline. These are essential elements for any sports league and they are certainly for the integrity of the PGA Tour and the sport. It is what holds the Tour together. These are guiding principles for us.”
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