Source: Amid LIV unrest, players exploring return
PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp joins "The Pat McAfee Show" to discuss how the PGA Tour has evolved and grown with LIV Golf in the mix. (1:53) Multiple representatives for LIV Golf players have started to reach out to the PGA Tour to explore what a path back would look like, a source told ESPN on Wednesday. In January, PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp introduced a "Returning Member Program" — a performance-based pathway for players who had been away from the tour for at least two years and who had won either the Players Championship or any of the four major championships from 2022 to 2025. Factors that might influence how the PGA Tour welcomes back specific players could include past performance, whether a player resigned his membership or didn't (Reed did, for example), whether he played on tour or had status at all and whether he was involved in the antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour.
Rolapp told the Wall Street Journal that plenty of people at the tour have "scar tissue" regarding the players who were part of that lawsuit and that he expects that factor to be accounted for "in some shape or form." Of the 11 players who were part of that suit, DeChambeau is the most prominent. He signed a framework agreement in 2023 with the PGA Tour and European tour and was set to join the PGA Tour Enterprises board if it was approved. Scott O'Neil, who replaced Greg Norman last year as CEO of LIV Golf, told staff in an email on April 15 that the 2026 season "continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle." But he later acknowledged during LIV's Mexico City event that Saudi funding was good through the 2026 season, and he would "work like crazy" to create a solid business plan, raising questions about how it would keep its top players.
Analysis: Why This Matters
Updates around PGA Tour carry weight: contracts, rosters, and momentum all hinge on stories like this.
Key Takeaways
- Earlier Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that LIV is expected to tell its players by Thursday that PIF's funding will stop at season's end.
- In addition, Sports Business Journal reported Wednesday night that Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of PIF who was behind the creation of LIV, is resigning as the tour's chairman.
- Brooks Koepka accepted along with several penalties included within it; the other eligible players — Bryson DeChambeau , Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith — opted not to take part.
Updates from the locker room, league office, and front office are likely soon — we'll keep you posted.
Source: ESPN Sports