Amid speculation about LIV Golf’s future, PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp open to new pathways for players to return

New PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp is watching the rumors and speculation surrounding LIV Golf like the rest of the golf world.

While the Tour will consider new avenues for players to return from the Saudi Arabian-backed circuit, a topic that has been circulating again in recent days after reports that LIV Golf was about to have its funding pulled and shut down, Rolapp doesn’t seem to be in a rush to get anything done on that front.

“We’re all reading the same headlines you’re reading. We don’t know what’s going on over there,” Rolapp said on ESPN on Monday. “We know those guys are under contract. We’ll respect that.”

Rumors erupted last week that LIV Golf was in danger of losing its financial backer, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and potentially facing a shutdown. The league’s Mexico City tournament ended up taking place without issue, and LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil said that the league is “funded through the [2026] season.”

O’Neil’s comments came during a TV interview that was later deleted on social media, however, and there are now significant questions about the league’s long-term viability. The PIF has poured billions into LIV Golf to try and make the startup a legitimate competitor to the PGA Tour since it started in 2022. But the PIF appears to be reconsidering its strategy funding sports-related endeavors.

Questions about LIV Golf’s future aren’t likely to go away anytime soon. If the league does end up folding, there are several big names who would likely look to return to the Tour and still be legitimate competitors — including Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith. Those three were eligible to return under the returning members program earlier this year, but declined to do so before the deadline.

That is what allowed Brooks Koepka to make the jump back and immediately start playing. Koepka ended his contract with LIV Golf early and rejoined the Tour in January while agreeing to several conditions. Among other things, he can’t accept any player equity shares for the next five years, isn’t eligible for the FedExCup bonus program this season and has to earn his way into the field at signature events.

Patrick Reed is expected to return to the PGA Tour this fall, too. He has since left LIV Golf and has been playing on the DP World Tour while he waits for his one-year suspension to end.