Rory McIlroy says LIV Golf stars returning to PGA Tour face 'tough road ahead'
Rory McIlroy says players who want to return from LIV Golf back to the PGA Tour face a tough road ahead. (Getty Images: James Gilbert)
In short:
Rory McIlroy has fired a thinly veiled shot at some of LIV Golf's biggest names who may seek to return to the PGA Tour.
McIlroy said: "I would argue, have they brought value to LIV?"
What's next?
LIV Golf has secured a funder, but it remains unclear whether the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith will stay with the rebel circuit or return to the PGA Tour.
Masters champion Rory McIlroy believes it could be a "tough road back" for LIV Golf players who may be eyeing a return to the PGA Tour and questioned what value they would even offer the US-based circuit.
McIlroy, speaking to reporters ahead of this week's BMW Championship, needed a brief moment to reflect before answering a question on whether the possibility of players returning from LIV Golf brings value to the PGA Tour.
"I mean, I would argue, have they brought value to LIV? You know?" McIlroy said at Bellerive Country Club in St Louis, Missouri.
"I think the PGA Tour's in a really good spot."
Australia's Cameron Smith is among the LIV Golf cohort that is yet to return to the PGA Tour. (Getty Images: Jamie Squire)
LIV Golf is wrapping up its 2026 season this week near Indianapolis and said earlier this month that it had secured a lead investor that will provide a funding boost as it prepares for a future without backing from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.
It remains unclear, however, whether major champions Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, two of LIV Golf's biggest draws, will stay on with the rebel circuit beyond this season or seek a return to the PGA Tour.
Brooks Koepka took advantage of a limited-time Returning Member Program in early 2026 to rejoin the PGA Tour after leaving LIV Golf last December.
Koepka's return came at a cost, with the five-time major winner facing a five-year forfeiture of potential equity in the PGA Tour's Player Equity Program, representing an estimated $50–85 million loss depending on his performance and tour growth.
DeChambeau, Rahm and former British Open champion Cameron Smith were also eligible to return under the same Returning Member Program that closed on February 2 after a three-week application window.
McIlroy said he was pretty certain that any additional returning players would not be welcomed back straight away.
"If they were offered this returning member program back in February, the one that Brooks took, then, yeah, maybe. But that has sort of come and gone," he said.
"And I think it was said at the time that the deal that they might get going forward, if they do decide to come back, isn't going to be as good as the one that Brooks got. So, yeah, I would say it's going to be a tough, tough road back."
Reuters