Kevin Kisner Drops Brutal Truth on LIV Golf Returnees After Canter Shocks PGA Tour
Laurie Canter just became the FIRST LIV golfer to qualify for a PGA Tour card after finishing 7th on the 2025 Race to Dubai… but what happened next has sent shockwaves across the entire golf world.
Instead of taking the historic card, Canter turned it down and rejoined LIV — and that decision exposed the BIGGEST unanswered question in men’s pro golf:
👉 What happens when LIV’s biggest stars want to come back?
Well… Kevin Kisner isn’t sugarcoating it.
In a brutally honest interview with Trey Wingo, Kisner laid out a potential punishment for ANY LIV player looking to return to the PGA Tour.
💬 “Maybe you tell them they can NEVER be equity owners… that could be the way to let them back,” Kisner said.
With Jon Rahm’s $500M deal, Bryson and Phil’s massive contracts, and LIV’s staggering £1.1B+ in losses, this is a conversation golf can’t avoid anymore.
And now, with the new PGA Tour Player Equity Program giving nearly $930M in equity to loyal members, the divide between PGA Tour players and LIV defectors is sharper than ever.
In today’s video, we break down:
⛳ Laurie Canter’s groundbreaking qualification
⛳ The PGA Tour’s new equity system — and why it changes EVERYTHING
⛳ Kisner’s blunt plan to punish LIV returnees
⛳ What happens if LIV collapses
⛳ How Kisner became NBC’s new lead golf analyst
⛳ Why his unfiltered voice is now shaping golf’s future
Whether you love LIV, support the PGA Tour, or just want to see honesty in golf media — this is a MUST-WATCH breakdown of the sport’s most explosive debate.
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Lori Caner finished the 2025 DP World Tour season, ranked number seven in the race to Dubai, becoming the first LIIV golfer to earn a PGA Tour card. Though he ultimately declined the card to remain with LIIV, his qualification triggered the uncomfortable question hanging over men’s golf. What happens if the biggest LIV defectors want to return to the PGA Tour? Kevin Knisser didn’t dance around it. Speaking with Trey Wingo, he went straight to the heart of the issue, punishment. If the equity program that the tour has unveiled really takes off, then the guys who have made so much money and that can’t complain about the money that those guys took at LIIV because now they’re owners of the PGA tour, which these guys are not, Kissner said. So maybe you tell them they can never be equity owners or never gain shares from their performance because of what they did and they come right back. Just an idea. I think that would be a way to allow them back. His point cuts deep. Almost every elite golfer who jumped to LIIV signed massive contracts. John Malone reportedly inked a staggering $500 million deal. Phil Mickelson, Bryson Dashambo, and several others also received enormous guaranteed payouts. Meanwhile, many PGA Tour loyalists have criticized LIIV’s spending, arguing those payouts destabilize the sport and forced the PGA Tour to inflate purses from roughly $800 million preLIV to over $1 billion today. Some players believe defectors should face real consequences if they want back in fines, forfeited earnings, or even donating Elivy money to charity. Financial pressure pushed Commissioner Jay Monahan and tour leadership to establish a for-profit arm, PGA Tour Enterprises, and introduce the first ever player equity program, PEP. Nearly 200 PGA Tour members will receive equity with $930 million in initial grants distributed across four tiers. $750 million to 36 top performers, $75 million to 64 consistent players, $30 million to 57 exempt members, $75 million to tour legends like Jack Nicholas Equity will vest over eight years, rewarding loyalty and aligning players with the tour’s long-term success. Kner’s proposal, Alivia returnees should be permanently excluded from this equity windfall. Kner also raised an uncomfortable hypothetical. What if Yasserain eventually pulls the plug on LIIV? LIIV Golf’s UK branch reported 461.8 million,590 million in losses for 2024, bringing total deficits since 2021 passed 1.1 billion, 1.4 billion, a result of heavy player payouts and limited revenue. While the PIF can absorb the losses for now, sustainability remains uncertain. The time gap I thought in my little brain in South Carolina said if Elivy goes away in 2 years, then Dustin Johnson, Brooks Kepka, and Bryson to Shambo would still be exiled on our tour. Kner said they could probably pay a fine and be right back. But now that so much time has passed, what do you make them do? Do you tell Bryson to go to tour school and earn his way back? I don’t know. I’m not smart enough to figure it out. His blunt matterof fact style has become a trademark and it’s a big reason NBC Sports hired him as its lead golf analyst in December 2024. Knisser replaced Paul Azinger and Johnny Miller after a lengthy search that included multiple trial analysts. The four-time PGA Tour winner debuted in 2024 during events like the WM Phoenix Open, the players, and the FedEx Cup playoffs. His authentic homespun South Carolina delivery and current player insight won over NBC executives. He now calls roughly 10 major broadcasts, including the US Open, the Open, the players, the FedEx Cup playoffs, and the 2025 RDER Cup, typically alongside Dan Hicks. NBC works around Knisser’s limited playing schedule via his top 50 career money exemption. Knisser initially brushed off the job when approached in December 2023, but he quickly adapted, emphasizing the importance of knowing when not to talk and choosing Encourse analysis over studio commentary. Kner’s candid take on LIIV returnees is exactly the type of clear-cut unfiltered commentary that has defined his playing career and now his broadcasting career. As the chaos of golf’s ongoing civil war continues, fans can count on Kissner to keep saying what many are thinking but few are willing to say out loud.
