The PGA Tour is not considering a returning-member program that would allow players from LIV Golf to return to the US-based circuit the way Brooks Koepka did in January.
Speaking one week after LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey, PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp said accountability and discipline were essential elements for any sports league.
“In terms of where we are today, we are not currently contemplating a returning-member program like the one you saw in January,” he said.
“Everyone at the PGA Tour, myself included, has been focused on what is best for the organisation.”
Rolapp added: “The PGA Tour is built on meritocracy. Every player, whether they are a member or want to become one, must earn their place.”
LIV Golf’s bankruptcy filing has left the playing futures of some of the breakaway circuit’s biggest names in doubt.
Major champions Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, two of the sport’s more popular players, were listed as the top unsecured creditors, with each owed more than $US5 million.
Five-time major champion Koepka took advantage of a limited-time returning member program in January to rejoin the PGA Tour after leaving LIV Golf last December.
Koepka’s return came at a cost, with the former world number one facing a five-year forfeiture of potential equity in the PGA Tour’s Player Equity Program, representing an estimated $US50-85 million loss depending on his performance and tour growth.
The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia owns 100 per cent of LIV Golf’s equity, according to its bankruptcy petition.
LIV Golf hopes to exit from bankruptcy by early 2027.
Reuters
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