After Brooks Koepka jumped ship from LIV Golf in December, all eyes are on the PGA Tour.
The golfing world waits with bated breath to see if the PGA Tour will allow Brooks Koepka to rejoin after the five-time major winner left LIV.
He has one year left to serve on the five-year suspension he received in 2022, so Koepka could be forced to play on the DP World Tour for a year before coming back. Alternatively, the PGA Tour could lift the suspension and allow the golf superstar to rejoin unpunished.
That could upset players who turned down big money from LIV to remain on the tour. If LIV players can return without consequence, it would be fair for them to ask why they turned down the payday in the first place.
However, Justin Thomas said he’d be happy for LIV players to return, and Xander Schauffele said he’d like to see Koepka on the PGA Tour again. It seems that many of the golf stars just want golf to be unified.
What about Rory McIlroy? He was the leading voice speaking out against LIV Golf when it was created in 2022, and McIlroy has been critical of Koepka and others for joining. He recently revealed whether he thinks LIV players should be welcomed back.
Thoughts?
Justin Thomas wants LIV Golfers back on the PGA Tour. Do you?
Rory McIlroy says if Bryson DeChambeau should be allowed back on the PGA Tour
McIlroy, on the Stick to Football podcast, was asked if he thinks golf will be unified in the foreseeable future, and he replied, “I don’t know, but if LIV is failing to capture the imagination and they’ve spent so much money on this venture, and it isn’t making a return for them. I don’t know how much longer they can keep it going.”
The podcast’s host, Gary Neville, then asked McIlroy if LIV players should be allowed back without consequence, and he gave a surprising answer.
McIlroy answered, “They’ve made the money, but they’ve paid their consequence in terms of their reputation and some of the things that they’ve lost by going over there.
“If it made the overall tour stronger to have Bryson DeChambeau back and whoever else, I would be okay with it. But again, it’s not just me, and I recognize that not everyone’s in my position.
“So, it would be up to the collective group of PGA Tour members to make that decision.”
That’s a powerful message from a man who has been so publicly critical of LIV and its players in recent years. It seems that the general consensus among PGA Tour stars is that they’d like to see the LIV players back.
The biggest victims of LIV players returning to the PGA Tour
If PGA Tour stars took issue with LIV players returning, it would likely be for emotional and principled reasons. Some players could be angry that they missed out on the LIV money.
But there’s a large group of players that might be legitimately concerned if there’s a sudden influx of players on the PGA Tour, and that’s the players further down the leaderboard who are fighting tooth-and-nail to keep their card.
These players had to battle through the ranks of the DP World Tour, the Korn Ferry Tour, and Q-School to earn their cards, and are now desperately attempting to maintain their tour status. So why should LIV players be allowed to waltz back onto the tour without earning their place?
Which of these LIV Golf stars would you least like to see back on the PGA Tour?
Furthermore, the number of fully exempt PGA Tour cards has been reduced to 100, down from 125 in recent years, so adding more players to the tour would make it even more difficult for those on the cusp of losing their cards.
After McIlroy’s comments, it seems clear that there would be no uprising of PGA Tour stars if LIV players were to return unpunished. What is yet to be determined, is if those fighting for their PGA Tour survival would take issue.
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