Rory McIlroy Shares Bold Opinion About What LIV Golfers Returning To PGA Tour Should Look Like
Rory says bring 'em back.
Over the last couple of years, the discussion about LIV Golf players returning to the PGA Tour, and what that would look like, has been hypothetical, with LIV's biggest stars being locked into lengthy contracts. Now that those contracts are nearing their expiration dates, conversations have taken a more serious tone entering 2026.
While details about LIV players potentially returning to the Tour are still very much unknown, it's not stopping Tour players from being asked about the prospect.
Rory McIlroy has long shared the opinion that players who left for LIV should be able to return to the Tour. Once the harshest critic of the Saudi-backed circuit, the career grand slam winner changed his tune about players returning to the Tour in January 2024.
Fast-forward to January 2026, and he's not only still on board with LIV players returning to the Tour, but also doing so without facing any form of consequence.
"I think they’ve already paid their consequence," McIlroy recently explained on ‘Stick To Football.' "They’ve made the money, but they’ve paid their consequence in terms of the reputation and some of the things they’ve lost by going over there.
"If it made the overall tour stronger to have Bryson back and whoever else, I would be okay with it, but I recognize not everyone is in my position. It would be up to the collective group of PGA Tour members to make that decision."
Rory McIlroy would welcome LIV players back to the Tour, without consequence. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
As McIlroy noted, the PGA Tour is run by a collection of players, but the opinion of the most-influential golfer on the planet not named Tiger Woods likely carries a significant amount of weight.
One significant player who appears to be looking to get back on Tour sooner rather than later is five-time major winner Brooks Koepka.
Koepka, who joined LIV in 2022, officially left the circuit in December, with his representatives citing that family and spending more time at home had guided him to the decision to leave.
The PGA Tour issued an odd statement about Koepka's departure shortly after it became official.
"Brooks Koepka is a highly accomplished professional, and we wish him and his family continued success," the statement read. "The PGA Tour continues to offer the best professional golfers the most competitive, challenging, and lucrative environment in which to pursue greatness."
Koepka's exit from LIV added fuel to the rumor that he would sit out the 2026 LIV season and use it as a gap year to serve out a suspected 12-month PGA Tour suspension with the hopes of returning to the Tour in August 2026. He is still eligible to play on the DP World Tour and in major championships thanks to his victory at the 2023 PGA Championship.