Could LIV Golfers Return To The PGA Tour? The Circuit's CEO Brian Rolapp Gives Thoughts

Ever since it was confirmed that the Saudi Public Investment Fund would withdraw its backing from LIV Golf at the end of the season, speculation has been rife about what it means for the circuit's future.

CEO Scott O’Neil is confident LIV Golf will have a future beyond the 2026 season, but if it were to fold, it would leave big questions over the futures of its players, including whether many would be able to make their way back to the PGA Tour.

O’Neil’s PGA Tour counterpart, Brian Rolapp, addressed those concerns during an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, where he didn’t rule out the possibility of some players returning to the circuit.

However, he insisted that, as long as LIV Golfers are under contract, there is little the PGA Tour can do.

He said: “I think it’s natural there’s a lot of people trying to figure out what their future might look like.

“LIV has talked about that they have funding until the end of their season. I think they’re 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 - our future and how we make the Tour better.”

Despite Rolapp’s unwillingness to speculate on what may happen in the future, he accepted that men's elite golf would be better served by the best players came together more often.

He added: “I would just say in general, fans have always been consistent. They want to see the best golfers together as often as possible and I agree with that. That’s great.”

Should LIV Golf close for business, one of the issues is that the PGA Tour, as well as other circuits, is already full, while there’s also the strong possibility that some members may not welcome LIV Golfers back into the fold.

Rolapp acknowledged that their interests will need to be taken into account.

He added: “I’ve always been very clear publicly that I’m interested in whatever makes the PGA Tour better, but at the same time, there is a reality that 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 members, the current golfers.”

Rolapp also pointed to the examples of Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed, with Koepka making an immediate PGA Tour return via the Returning Member Program and Reed concentrating on the DP World Tour before the resumption of his PGA Tour career.

“I think 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 are looking for and the PGA Tour has that and they found their way back.”

Earlier in the week, Anirban Lahiri claimed that “at least a dozen” LIV Golfers would rather retire than return to the PGA Tour, and similarly, Rolapp pointed out that it may not be in everyone’s best interests to try and look for a way back.

He said: “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.”