A general view of the pin flag on the 16th green during the second round of the season finale of the LIV Golf series at Trump National Doral. Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Do LIV Golfers have to return to the PGA Tour?

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 8/2/23

It may be August, but we still don't know all the details of the proposed merger between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the Public Investment Fund.

One particular sticking point that has both fans and players scratching their heads is whether players who defected to LIV Golf will be forced to return to the PGA Tour.

While that answer isn't readily clear, players from both sides of the aisle have had something to say about it.

PGA pro and world No. 3 Jon Rahm touched on the matter recently, saying he is under the impression that LIV Golf will continue to be its own entity, at which point he hopes the two sides can reach an agreement everyone is happy with and move forward.

"I think LIV will continue, from what I understand when I talked to their players, none of them intend to return to the PGA Tour," Rahm told the Spanish-speaking Golf Sin Etiquetas podcast. "They left for a reason."

#NEW: World #3 Jon Rahm is speaking out against the PGA TOUR for their handling of the merger — Rahm gave his thoughts on the Golf Sin Etiquetas podcast. He said: “2 minutes before the announcement came out someone from the PGA Tour contacted me and told me everything. I… pic.twitter.com/IaTraemAlb
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) July 31, 2023

Not surprisingly, LIV Golf faceplate Phil Mickelson has already proclaimed that no LIV player has any desire to rejoin the PGA Tour, but that the PGA should issue a public apology — and then some — to golfers who defected.

What a colossal waste of time.Not a single player on LIV wants to play PGA Tour. It would require a public apology and restitution to LIV playersfor paying millions to Clout media to disparage all of us.A better topic is future sanctions for the many players who now come to LIV
— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) July 30, 2023

Truthfully, we still don't know how this potential merger will look since the framework still hasn't fully been agreed on.

It's fair to point out, though, that LIV Golf's fate doesn't look as guaranteed as it did even a week ago. Now that Tiger Woods has been added to the PGA Tour policy board and gives PGA players a stronger voice regarding the merger, the idea LIV Golf will continue in its current form seems less likely.

The agreement to merge the golf tours doesn't have to be finalized until Dec. 31, so there is going to be plenty of speculation in the coming months. Suffice it to say, however, it looks like things will be pretty tense if players like Mickelson have to be pushed to join the PGA Tour again.

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