PGA Tour says no immediate return pathway for top LIV Golf players

The PGA Tour is not planning an immediate programme to reinstate leading players who moved to LIV Golf, officials said on the eve of this week's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Major winners Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith are weighing their options after LIV filed for bankruptcy protection last week with over $45m owed to players.

LIV has filed for bankruptcy protection and is attempting to establish a new circuit for next year, leaving several high-profile signings uncertain about their futures. Jon Rahm said he could not yet outline his plans, adding: "There's a long legal process they have to go through before a lot of things fall into place," before playing at Wentworth. The PGA Tour is proceeding with plans for a revamped structure in 2028 but chief executive Brian Rolapp made clear there are no guarantees of an automatic pathway back for those players.

Brooks Koepka secured a deal that returned him to the US tour earlier in the year, a route not taken by DeChambeau, Rahm and Smith, the organisation said. If LIV players choose to leave, one commonly cited route back to the PGA Tour would be via the DP World Tour. Currently, the leading 10 finishers on the Race to Dubai earn cards for the American circuit, though the system may be altered.

Golfers who defected to LIV were given one-year bans that could be served while playing on the DP World Tour, the report noted. On the question of a bespoke return programme, Rolapp said: "In terms of where we are today, we are not currently contemplating a returning member programme like the one you saw in January." He declined to promise that LIV's biggest names would be welcomed back without meeting the tour's requirements.

Rolapp set out the PGA Tour's stance on membership and discipline, saying: "The PGA Tour is built on meritocracy,". "Every player, whether they are a member or want to become one, must earn their place. "We are a membership organisation; we have rules, and those rules exist for lots of reasons, including fairness and competitive balance. Rules matter, and they must be enforced." He added: "Accountability and discipline, these are essential elements for any sports league and are certainly for the integrity of the PGA Tour and the sport. It's what holds the tour together. "Those are guiding principles for us."

Rolapp confirmed talks with the DP World Tour over how many players will progress to the PGA Tour under the planned promotion and relegation model are ongoing and that the number of cards could be reduced. "That's very much under discussion both internally and as we continue our discussions with the DP World Tour," he said. "The spirit of those conversations are very productive. Both sides are trying to think creatively about how we modify and improve the relationship we have. "Like any discussions, there's things we agree on, things we don't agree on, things we're trying to work through, and we'll continue to do that."

Rory McIlroy said he was not concerned that an agreement with the DP World Tour had not been finalised but questioned the appeal of the lower tier in the planned structure, saying: "I don't see any reason why a DP World Tour player would go to the Challenger Series,". He added: "No one's going to argue that the Championship Series is going to be the highest level of tour golf that you can play, and then it's just deciding what an adequate number of cards is to go from here to the Championship Series."

Negotiations over the detail of how many DP World Tour players would gain PGA Tour access continue as the PGA Tour moves ahead with a 2028 split into Championship and Challenger tiers, leaving the final pathway for former LIV players to be determined by those discussions.