Rory McIlroy isn't convinced every LIV Golf player deserves an easy path back to the PGA Tour.
Speaking Wednesday ahead of the BMW Championship, McIlroy was asked about the possibility of LIV players returning to the Tour as speculation continues to swirl around the future of the Saudi-backed league.
His response was blunt.
“I mean, I’d argue, have they brought value to LIV? You know?” McIlroy said.
“I think the PGA Tour’s in a really good spot.”
The comments came as LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil was discussing the league's future following the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund's decision to step away from its primary financial backing. That development has fueled speculation about whether some LIV players could eventually attempt to return to the PGA Tour.
McIlroy, however, believes returning players could face a difficult road.
McIlroy was specifically asked whether two-time major champions Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm would strengthen the PGA Tour as it prepares for future media-rights negotiations.
Both players, along with Brooks Koepka and Cameron Smith, were offered a pathway back to the PGA Tour earlier this year. Koepka accepted the offer, while the others remained with LIV.
McIlroy suggested that opportunity may have passed.
“Eventually, yeah, maybe,” McIlroy said when asked if DeChambeau and Rahm would help the Tour.
But he added that players who eventually decide to return could face tougher conditions than Koepka did.
“If they were offered this returning member program back in February, the one that Brooks took, then, yeah, maybe,” McIlroy said. “But that has sort of come and gone.”
McIlroy also indicated that future return offers may not be as favorable as the one Koepka received.
“So, yeah, I would say it’s going to be a tough, tough road back,” he said.
McIlroy Still Doesn't Want LIV to Fail at Golfers' Expense
Despite his long-running criticism of LIV Golf, McIlroy said he wouldn't take pleasure in seeing players lose their jobs if the league ultimately collapses or significantly changes its business model.
“I don’t take any personal satisfaction of people like losing jobs,” McIlroy said.
McIlroy has consistently argued that the PGA Tour remains the best competitive platform for elite professional golfers. He also acknowledged that the Tour could have handled some of its problems better before LIV emerged in 2022.
But he questioned whether players who were unhappy with the Tour needed to leave professional golf's established structure altogether.
“Surely that just warranted a conversation instead of blowing the entire professional game up and doing something else,” McIlroy said.
He also suggested the PGA Tour could have handled the situation differently if it had received the kind of financial resources LIV ultimately had.
“I’m pretty sure if the PGA Tour were handed $6 billion dollars it would have done a better job with it,” McIlroy said.
Scheffler and Scott Take a Different Tone
McIlroy's comments came as other top players offered a more welcoming view of potential LIV returnees.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler said LIV still has several players who could add significant value to the PGA Tour.
“I think when you look at the higher levels of LIV Golf, there’s definitely some players that would provide a lot of value to the Tour,” Scheffler said.
However, Scheffler also believes returning players should face some sort of penalty.
Adam Scott took a similarly measured approach, saying the PGA Tour needs to protect its existing membership while maintaining a pathway for players who want to return.
“I think it needs to be fair,” Scott said. “The PGA Tour needs to protect its own membership, but I think the PGA Tour also knows that there needs to be pathways, so it will be fair.”
With LIV Golf's future increasingly uncertain, the debate over which players should be welcomed back — and under what conditions — could become one of professional golf's biggest storylines.
And if McIlroy's comments are any indication, some LIV players shouldn't expect an easy welcome home.
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