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It looks like LIV Golf is officially no more at the end of the current season. The tour had its funding pulled, and now players are looking to return to the PGA Tour. LIV CEO Scott O’Neil had said he expects business as usual for the 2026 season, which is true. But beyond that, LIV’s time appears to be up, and players are already trying to find their way back.
LIV Golf members reportedly looking for pathways back
In 2022, when LIV Golf began poaching members of the PGA Tour, penalties were handed down. Now, when players like Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed wanted out, neither could return without facing a penalty. Reed is still ineligible until August.
LIV is, according to reports, going to lose funding at the end of the current season. All the golfers left, including Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Cam Smith, Talor Gooch, and Phil Mickelson, appear to be without a tour now. A report from ESPN’s Paolo Ugetti states that representatives for several players have reached out about a pathway back.
Koepka returned under a special pathway. It was afforded to recent Major winners, including Koepka, DeChambeau, Rahm, and Smith. The latter three declined and stood by LIV. That offer expired, so it’s not available to them.
Reed returned under a different pathway, and he is still not able to play. He also faced steep financial penalties. It’s unclear if that same pathway will be opened for these players, but it may not be. Reed, at least, left of his own accord. These other golfers would be returning because LIV folded, not necessarily because they wanted back on the PGA Tour.
PGA Tour weighing options
LIV Golf is, with all due respect, not the hottest hotbed of talent in golf. There are good players, but some of those who defected or joined up outright would not have made it on the PGA Tour. Now, some of those players are in trouble.
The PGA Tour has long sought a way to get the best golfers in the world on the same tour. That applies to Bryson DeChambeau, Talor Gooch, and others. It doesn’t necessarily apply to Caleb Surratt or Elvis Smylie. Those golfers are not, again, with all due respect, the caliber of player the Tour would welcome back with open arms.
There are also some older players who are in a difficult spot. Most players over 50 are on the PGA Tour Champions, but would they welcome Phil Mickelson, Ian Poulter, or Lee Westwood back? It remains to be seen, and it remains to be seen if Mickelson, in particular, would want that versus an attempt at the actual Tour.
“We’re interested in having the best players who can help our tour,” Rolapp said earlier this week. “Not every player can do that.” That pretty much paints the picture that when LIV does fold, there will be some free agent golfers left in the lurch. Not everyone’s going to make it back, and it will be interesting to see how the Tour handles this.
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