PGA Tour boss sends clear message to LIV Golf players: "You saw what Brooks and Patrick did"

PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp has encouraged any LIV Golf player who may want to return to the North American circuit to take inspiration from Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed. 

The future of the breakaway league is in doubt after Saudi Arabia announced it will no longer fund the venture after the conclusion of the 2026 campaign.

In response, LIV Golf have hired two new board members as part of a "strategic evolution" as it attempts to find replacement financial investors. 

The news has led to intense speculation that some LIV players believe the writing may be on the wall and are already exploring their options should the league not survive. 

"I don't want to talk about personal conversations, but I think I think it's natural," Rolapp told SportsCenter when asked if he's already received phone calls from LIV players. 

"There's a lot of people trying to figure out what the future might be."

Pressed on how the Tour is balancing what the management want versus what the players want, Rolapp said: "The good news is we don't we don't have to."

He added: "I think they're [LIV] working hard to figure out what life is after that. The reality is all of their guys are under contract. 

"So until they're not under contract, it's not really an issue we need to worry about. 

"So we're not spending a lot of time thinking about it, honestly. We're spending most of our time thinking about what you and I just talked about, about our future and how we make the Tour better."

There is no denying that the split in the elite men's game has caused upset among fans of the sport, with the very best only competing together in the major championships. 

Rolapp said he agreed with that sentiment, but stressed the PGA Tour has to balance the desires of golf fans with their players. 

"We have a membership and anything we do to make the PGA Tour better, we need to balance that with the interests of our current member, our current golfers," he said.  

"And while I don't have a lot of scar tissue from the past, that sort of still exists. And I have to be conscious of that."

Rolapp was referring to the fact that several players took gargantuan sums of money to join LIV and believe they should not be allowed to walk back through the door free of charge. 

And it's clear there are still feelings of resentment towards the group of 11 players who sued the PGA Tour in 2022. 

It was a group that included Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson. 

However, Rolapp stressed that there can always be a route back. 

"You saw what Brooks Koepka did and what Patrick Reed did," he said. "They sort of made a decision. They got out of whatever commitments they had. They said, we're ready to come back. This is what we're looking for. The PGA Tour has that. And they found their way back."

He added: "The PGA Tour may not be for everybody. I mean, what we're building, I'm really excited about. Our members are excited about it. Our fans are excited about it. It may not excite some people. 

"I would never begrudge people for making whatever business decision they made. But we ultimately want people who are really excited about what we're building. And I think over time, we'll just see how that plays out."

His comments come as Rory McIlroy said it would be "good business" for the PGA Tour to bring back LIV Golf defectors. 

McIlroy was once a fierce critic of LIV Golf but has softened his view in recent years, oftentimes explaining that he was too judgemental of the players who left. 

"If it is a scenario where they have the option to come back and play on the traditional tours, you know, I think [PGA Tour chief executive] Brian Rolapp has said anything that makes this tour stronger, anything that makes the DP World Tour stronger, I think everyone should be open to that.

"That's just good business practice."

The six-time major winner added: "I think everyone sort of knows my views on LIV and where it stands in the game of golf. I don't think I need to rehash any of that.

"It's never been for me and, look, it doesn't mean that LIV is going to go away. They're going to go and try and find alternative investment, whatever that may look like."