The PGA Tour made a bombshell announcement earlier this week that it is opening the door for a few select LIV players to come back to the Tour—for a limited time only.
You can read more details in my story here, but the heart of the matter is that Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith had the option to return to the Tour immediately.
Koepka has already taken the option. We will see him at the Farmers Insurance Open in a couple weeks.
The penalty? Barely a slap on the wrist, honestly.
Koepka and anyone else in this group who wanted to return had to forfeit some future equity (which may be worth a little or a lot) and FedEx Cup bonus money. They would have to qualify their way back into the signature events, though DeChambeau would have been in them given his top 30 world ranking.
There are some other minor details, but it was a wide open door for these LIV players to come back.
The remaining three players had until February 2 to decide.
It didn’t take them that long to choose—all three players are staying with LIV.
Bryson DeChambeau
DeChambeau is LIV’s most vital player by a wide margin, so it’s a huge relief for the circuit to see their top player pledge his allegiance.
“I had no idea, no idea that that would happen,” DeChambeau said during a LIV preseason news conference in Palm Beach, Florida. “No idea what the penalties would even be. Right now, I’ve got a contract. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do at LIV Golf this year.”
This wasn’t necessary a strong confirmation and I think the writing could be on the wall that DeChambeau would like to leave at the end of his deal, which expires at the end of this upcoming season.
But is it possible he could come back to the Tour in 2027? I wouldn’t bet on it given how Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said it’s basically now or never to return.
Jon Rahm
When Rahm took the LIV money back in December 2023, the assumption was that his move would bring the Tour and LIV closer together. Well, it didn’t.
Some believed that Rahm now had a second chance to bring everything back together—if he left LIV, the league could have been on the way to shutting down or becoming even more irrelevant.
But Rahm did, of course, sign a contract that apparently carries through at least 2027. It might not have been realistic to get out of it.
“I’m not planning on going anywhere,” Rahm said. “(A) very similar answer to what Bryson gave. I wish Brooks the best. As far as I’m concerned, I’m focused on the league and my team this year, and hopefully we can repeat as champions again.”
Cameron Smith
Smith left for LIV because of family and to spend more time in Australia. LIV has a huge event in his home country and his LIV team of Ripper GC is all Aussies.
It’s been apparent throughout Smith’s career that he has other priorities beyond his legacy in the game of golf. He has already won an Open Championship at St Andrews, which he parlayed into a huge payday.
His game went from phenomenal to abysmal since switching to LIV (No. 119 in Data Golf), but I’m not sure he is all that bothered from that.
“I made a decision to come out here and spend more time at home, and I’m not giving that away,” Smith said. “I’ll be on LIV for years to come.”
The ramifications of their decision
A bold move by the Tour was answered by an even bolder move by these three players.
For LIV, this gives them some sliver of hope that they can continue forward, though I would be shocked if golf fans ever cared about the product.
For the Tour and golf fans, it’s kind of a sad realization that two of the best players in the game are only going to be visible during majors (and on YouTube) for the foreseeable future.
Rolapp said the door to return to the Tour might not open again.
There was a brief moment of optimism that the pro golf world might get shaken up by this move, but it looks like things turned out mostly the same.
Barring a change of heart by any of these LIV players—which seems unlikely—we’re proceeding as usual.
Top Photo Caption: Jon Rahm looks on as Bryson DeChambeau putts during a LIV event. (GETTY IMAGES/Michael Miller)
Fake
5 months ago
I was convinced that Bryson and Rahm were going to jump ship. Just a gut feeling that they were going to leave and LIV would be done after this season. My mistake, of course. We will see what the future holds.