PGA TOUR RULES OUT SPECIAL RETURN ROUTE FOR LIV GOLF PLAYERS

Brian Rolapp, the PGA Tour's commissioner, has said there are no plans to create a returning-member route for LIV Golf players seeking to rejoin the PGA Tour. Speaking on a virtual media call, Rolapp ruled out reintroducing a mechanism similar to the one that let Brooks Koepka return to the Tour in January. His comments came a week after LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey. The call also outlined a two-tiered PGA Tour system due to launch in 2028. Rolapp said meritocracy, rules and accountability remain the Tour's guiding principles.

Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau were listed among LIV Golf's leading unsecured creditors in the bankruptcy filing, each owed more than $5 million. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund retains full ownership of LIV Golf's equity, the petition states, after saying in April that funding would end after the 2026 season. Koepka's return in January cost him a five-year forfeiture of potential equity in the Tour's Player Equity Program, estimated at between $50 million and $85 million. Speaking at Wentworth, Rahm said golfers face "a long legal process" before their futures become clear. LIV Golf hopes to exit bankruptcy by early 2027.

Rolapp said the Tour is a membership organisation whose rules exist for fairness and competitive balance, enforced through accountability and discipline. Players including Rahm, Cameron Smith and Tyrrell Hatton are expected to earn their way back through performances on the DP World Tour, with 2027 seen as a likely route. The PGA Tour is working out how cards can be earned from the DP World Tour under the new tiered system. Golfers remain LIV Golf employees pending the outcome of the bankruptcy proceedings.