Rory McIlroy has softened his position on the potential return of LIV Golf players to the PGA Tour, admitting on Friday that welcoming back more defectors from the rival circuit could ultimately be a positive move.
With the future of LIV in question after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced it would stop its financial backing after this year, McIlroy was asked how this might affect the PGA Tour.
“It’s a question of whether they actually want to come back,” McIlroy said after finishing the second round of the Truist Championship tied for eighth in Charlotte. “We’ve seen the quotes over the past few days. And it seems to depend on what happens with LIV.
“But if there’s a scenario where they have the option to return and compete on the traditional tours, I think Brian Rolapp has said that anything making this Tour stronger, or the DP World Tour stronger, is something everyone should be open to. That’s just good business.”
The six-time major winner added: “I think everyone knows my stance on LIV and where it fits in the game. I don’t need to revisit that. It was never for me, and that doesn’t mean LIV will vanish. They’ll look for alternative investment, whatever that looks like.
“But when one of the world’s wealthiest sovereign wealth funds decides you’re too expensive, that says something.”
Earlier this year, five-time major winner Brooks Koepka accepted the terms of the PGA Tour’s Returning Member Program and rejoined from LIV. The conditions included “heavy and appropriate limitations on tournament access and potential earnings” to hold returning members accountable for compensation received elsewhere.
The offer applied to golfers who won a Players Championship, Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, U.S. Open or Open Championship between 2022 and 2025. Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith were also eligible based on those criteria.
Commenting on LIV players generally, McIlroy said Friday: “I was probably too judgmental toward the guys who left because I was seeing it from my own perspective, not from theirs. But again, I won’t judge anyone for not wanting to play on the PGA Tour.
“Maybe they could play on the DP World Tour. If that’s a pathway, it would strengthen that Tour, and I’d be delighted because that’s my home Tour.
“But if you want to be the most competitive golfer possible, the PGA Tour is the place to be. If you don’t want to play here, I think that says something about you.”
