PGA Tour not planning return programme for LIV stars

There are no plans to create an instant pathway back to the PGA Tour for LIV Golf's biggest stars.

Major winners Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith are contemplating their futures after LIV filed for bankruptcy protection last week as the breakaway league tries to create a new circuit for next year.

Rahm said he was uncertain about his future plans.

"There's a long legal process they have to go through before a lot of things fall into place," the Spaniard said before playing this week's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

"I really can't give you an answer right now."

The PGA Tour is pressing ahead with its plans for a revamped set-up in 2028 but chief executive Brian Rolapp offered no guarantees that LIV's biggest names will be welcomed back.

"In terms of where we are today, we are not currently contemplating a returning member program like the one you saw in January," Rolapp said.

Brooks Koepka took a deal that brought him back to the US tour at the start of the year but the arrangement was rejected by DeChambeau, Rahm and Smith.

If players abandon LIV, it was thought their most likely route back to the PGA Tour would be through playing the DP World Tour.

Currently, the leading 10 finishers on the Race to Dubai earn cards for the American circuit, but that may change.

Rolapp admitted no deal has been struck over how many DP World Tour players will qualify for his circuit when it splits into a promotion and relegation setup with Championship and Challenger tiers from 2028.

Golfers who defected to LIV were hit with one-year bans that could be served while playing on the DP World Tour. Now it seems there are no guarantees as the revamping of the game's leading circuit continues.

"The PGA Tour is built on meritocracy," Rolapp said. "Every player, whether they are a member or want to become one, must earn their place.

"We are a membership organisation; we have rules, and those rules exist for lots of reasons, including fairness and competitive balance. Rules matter, and they must be enforced."

Rolapp added: "Accountability and discipline, these are essential elements for any sports league and are certainly for the integrity of the PGA Tour and the sport. It's what holds the tour together.

"Those are guiding principles for us."

Negotiations with the DP World Tour over how many players will progress from the European based organisation to the PGA Tour are still to be concluded and the number of cards could be reduced.

"That's very much under discussion both internally and as we continue our discussions with the DP World Tour," Rolapp said.

"The spirit of those conversations are very productive. Both sides are trying to think creatively about how we modify and improve the relationship we have.

"Like any discussions, there's things we agree on, things we don't agree on, things we're trying to work through, and we'll continue to do that."

Rory McIIroy says he is not worried that a deal with the DP World Tour has yet to be concluded, but he warned that cards being made available for the lower Challenger Series would be less attractive.

"I don't see any reason why a DP World Tour player would go to the Challenger Series," said the two-time Masters champion. "I don't see that as an upward move in your career. I see it as a very lateral move."

McIlroy added: "No one's going to argue that the Championship Series is going to be the highest level of tour golf that you can play, and then it's just deciding what an adequate number of cards is to go from here to the Championship Series."