Rory McIlroy may have made his dislike of LIV Golf clear several times, but he insists he has no issue welcoming players who left for the rival league back to the PGA Tour.
The reigning Masters Champion has never shied away from revealing his feelings on the rival league, openly declaring that he would rather retire than join LIV if need be.
However, with a number of players beginning to announce their departure from the Saudi-backed tour, questions have been raised over whether they will return to their roots.
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Brooks Koepka is among the latest to announce he would not be back for the 2026 LIV season, with fans expecting the five-time major winner to return to the PGA Tour.
If he were to move back, it would be likely, as per the current PGA Tour rulings, that he would need to serve a 12 month suspension due to his LIV involvement.
The last non-sanctioned LIV event was in late August, meaning all who attended that event would be unable to play in a PGA event until September.
Bryson DeChambeau of Crushers GC plays out of the bunker on the 11th hole during LIV Adelaide at The Grange Golf Club. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images) Getty
Bryson DeChambeau is another athlete who has also left the door ajar for a LIV exit.
Regardless of their past choices, McIlroy admits he has no sour outlook on the pair.
“They’ve made the money, but they’ve paid their consequence in terms of, you talk about the reputation and some of the things they’ve lost by going over there,” he told The Overlap’s Stick To Football.
“If it made the overall tour stronger, to have Bryson DeChambeau back and whoever else, I would be OK with it.
“But again, it’s not just me. And I recognise that not everyone’s in my position, so it would be up to the collective grip of the PGA Tour members to make that decision.”
McIlroy is not the only PGA player to express that view in recent weeks, with Billy Horschel also admitting he does not mind if players look to return to the tour.
Rory McIlroy reacts on the 18th green at the Australian Open. Getty
Although, Horschel did make it clear that he did at one point believe greater punishments for those who defected to LIV should be in place.
McIlroy was in the same boat as Horschel, but has also softened his stance.
Still, if players continue to depart LIV, he can’t see how much longer the league will run.
“If LIV is failing to capture the imagination – 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” he continued.
“And maybe it’s just I’m too much of a traditionalist to get it, but it just doesn’t seem to have anything.
“They were coming into the game saying, ‘We’re going to be different’ … even the fact they’ve now switched from 54 to 72 holes to get a world ranking.
“It’s like you’re just doing what everyone else is doing, so what’s different apart from the money?”
Koepka was reportedly paid $194m AUD to join LIV, the third largest contract behind Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson.
DeChambeau sits fifth on that list at $187m.
