Rory McIlroy Takes Shot at LIV Golfers Who Wouldn't Want to Return to PGA Tour

Rory McIlroy served as the de facto spokesperson for the PGA Tour after LIV Golf’s inception in 2022.

In the four years since, a lot has transpired. However, one thing has stayed consistent: McIlroy is still sounding off on the rival league.

Such was the case after his second round at the Truist Championship, when he was asked about LIV losing its funding from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund at the end of this season.

“I think everyone sort of knows my views on LIV and where it stands in the game of golf,” the six-time major champion said. “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. But when one of the wealthiest sovereign wealth funds in the world thinks that you're too expensive for them, that sort of says something.”

But if LIV doesn’t find a new bankroller, it’ll likely cease to exist. And that raises the question of whether, and how, the PGA Tour could create a pathway back for those who left for LIV.

McIlroy isn’t sure if some of them would even want to come back. Bryson DeChambeau claims he would consider YouTube golf full-time. Anirban Lahiri said he knows a dozen LIV players “who’d rather quit than return to the PGA Tour.”

The Northern Irishman has no hard feelings for those who feel that way. Still, he believes that’s a reflection of their competitiveness.

"If you don't want to play on the PGA Tour, I think that says something about you."

Rory comments on the quality of the Tour and where LIV golfers will want to play ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/uMkRF3hGW2
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) May 8, 2026

“I was probably too judgmental with the guys that went because I was seeing it from my point of view and maybe not seeing it from other points of view,” said McIlroy, who’s four strokes back of the 36-hole lead at the Truist. “But again, I’m not going to judge anyone for not wanting to play on the PGA Tour.

He added: “If you want to be the most competitive golfer you can be, this is the place to be. And if you don’t want to play here, I think that says something about you.”

For those open to the possibility of coming back, though, McIlroy is willing to bury the hatchet.

“It seems like some of the guys, if—again, it all depends on what happens to LIV,” McIlroy said. “But if it is a scenario where they have the option to come back and play on the traditional tours, I think [PGA Tour CEO] 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.”

Friday on The Rich Eisen Show, Rolapp discussed the recent revelations regarding LIV, saying, “We’ll react when we have to react, depending on the circumstances. For us, it’s business as usual until the dust settles.”

The Tour reinstated Brooks Koepka earlier this year under a one-time Returning Member Program (DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cam Smith rejected the option to return under the same conditions as Koepka).

Patrick Reed also left LIV after his contract expired and is currently playing on the DP World Tour as he serves a one-year suspension from the PGA Tour (he can regain Tour status if he finishes inside the top 10 of the DPWT’s season-long standings).

There’s still a lot up in the air about how things with LIV will play out, and McIlroy doesn’t want to dance on its grave yet, regardless of how he feels about the rival circuit.

“I think there’s going to be a lot of sort of bridges to cross to get there,” he said, “just because, obviously, the guys over there are under contract and if they are able to keep it going and get a schedule together next year, it seems like those guys are still going to play the majority of their golf on LIV, in whatever form it takes.”

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