LIV Golf disrupted professional golf's status quo when it began poaching players and holding its own tournaments in 2022, backed by the hefty wallet of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). It created division within the sport as several notable former major tournament winners elected to take historic paydays to defect from the PGA Tour.
Less than five years after LIV officially teed off, its experiment could be on the verge of ending, although LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil is set to announce that the league will unveil new investment, which could keep the league afloat for the 2027 season and perhaps beyond. The league would be greatly diminished, as funding for the league would be cut down to a fraction of its previous state. In that case,
players who have signed deals might try to exit the circuit, perhaps peacefully as Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed did, or through litigation.
The Saudi sovereign wealth fund, which has reportedly spent more than $5 billion founding and operating LIV Golf, will pull its money following the 2026 season as part of a strategic shift.
That leaves a lot of golfers in limbo moving forward, including big stars such as Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm.
Will every LIV golfer wind up back on the PGA Tour? The process won't be straightforward, and not simply because PGA Tour officials and existing PGA Tour golfers don't necessarily want them to return. Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed are already taking two different pathways after leaving LIV Golf in favor of a PGA Tour comeback before the 2026 season, and they're not the only ones to switch back to the PGA Tour from LIV Golf this year.
Here's a breakdown of what the process of allowing LIV Golf competitors back to the PGA Tour could look like and how the PGA Tour handled recent situations with defectors who wanted to return:
Can LIV Golf players return to the PGA Tour?
Yes, but the circumstances and initial status awarded by the PGA Tour will depend on the player, and on what terms they left the PGA Tour.
Brian Rolapp, the PGA Tour's new CEO, indicated that he was open to allowing more players who defected to LIV Golf to return to the PGA Tour if it made the PGA Tour stronger. But Rolapp emphasized it was not one of the PGA Tour's priorities as it eyes a revamped schedule beginning next year.
How did Brooks Koepka flip from LIV Golf to PGA Tour?
Koepka and Reed have provided a glimpse into what the difference could look like in terms of earning re-entry into the PGA Tour.
Koepka announced in December he had agreed with LIV Golf officials to forgo the final year of his contract and applied for reinstatement to the PGA Tour. Koepka is permitted to play in PGA Tour events throughout this season because of the Returning Member Program, which was introduced in January for golfers "who have been away from the (PGA) Tour for at least two years and have won The Players Championship, Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, U.S. Open or The Open Championship during the 2022-2025 seasons."
Koepka will not receive any payment from the FedEx Cup bonus program for the 2026 season and he's ineligible to earn equity from the player equity program for the next five years (2026-2030). Koepka could miss out on approximately $50 million to $85 million in potential equity earnings, according to the PGA Tour, depending on his competitive performance and the Tour's growth.
Koepka also agreed to make a $5 million charitable contribution to an agreed-upon organization. He had to qualify for signature events this season and is ineligible for sponsor exemptions into those fields. Other tournament fields have been expanded to accommodate Koepka's presence in order to ensure PGA Tour golfers didn't lose a spot this season due to his return.
The Returning Member Program was created in response to Koepka applying for reinstatement to the PGA Tour, as well as PGA Tour research that showed fans wanted to see the best golfers competing together more often. It would have also allowed DeChambeau, Rahm and Cam Smith to return to the PGA Tour had they applied for reinstatement and accepted the terms of the program before Feb. 2.
Rolapp indicated in March he expected the Returning Member Program to be a one-time opportunity.
"I don't know the contractual relationship or the terms of others on the LIV Tour, and they have contracts and those should be honored," Rolapp said. "But we do have a pathway; Patrick Reed is clearly taking advantage of that pathway as he's, I guess, out of his contractual commitment. And so I think the LIV players know what those pathways are, and until they change, those are the pathways."
How is LIV Golf's Patrick Reed returning to the PGA Tour?
Reed announced in February he is seeking reinstatement for the 2027 PGA Tour season under its past champion category and could play in some events this year.
Since Reed last played in a LIV Golf event on Aug. 24, 2025, and because he resigned his PGA Tour membership in 2022 before joining LIV Golf, he is eligible to compete again on the PGA Tour as a non-member on Aug. 25, provided that he complies with PGA Tour regulations and does not participate in additional unauthorized events. He is also allowed to improve his potential status on the PGA Tour by playing on the DP World Tour.
Reed, like Koepka, will be ineligible to participate in the PGA Tour's lucrative Player Equity Program through 2030, even if he were reinstated for 2027. Reed previously said his contract with LIV Golf had expired following the 2025 season.
More LIV Golf defectors returning to PGA Tour
Kevin Na, Pat Perez and Hudson Swafford are also attempting to be reinstated to the PGA Tour through its past champion category after defecting to LIV Golf.
Na last played in what the PGA Tour calls an unauthorized tournament on Aug. 24, 2025, and is currently facing disciplinary action, according to Golfweek. Perez had his membership reinstated in January 2026 and is eligible to return on Jan. 1, 2027. Swafford is also eligible to play on the PGA Tour on Jan. 1, 2027.
What about LIV Golf members without a PGA Tour win?
Though the PGA Tour hasn't stated anything specifically related to former members who defected to LIV Golf and never won a PGA Tour event before leaving, the PGA Tour has longstanding pathways to be eligible to play in PGA Tour events.
There are sponsor exemptions to individual tournaments, as well as the Korn Ferry Tour. Golfers who finish within the top 20 of the final Korn Ferry Tour standings receive a PGA Tour card for the next season. Most Korn Ferry Tour events offer eight spots in the field via an 18-hole qualifying event, according to the PGA Tour.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What happens to Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, others if LIV Golf revive fails
