Justin Rose Says Golf Is Ready to Welcome Back LIV Defectors

Justin Rose says professional golf is ready to move past its civil war, with LIV Golf defectors like Jon Rahm welcome back on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. Rose spoke at the DP World India Championship, where Rahm's departure from the rebel league was a major topic of conversation among players.

Why is Justin Rose weighing in on LIV Golf's defectors?

Rose was one of LIV's early recruitment targets in 2022, when the Saudi-backed league was signing established names to build credibility. He turned the offer down and instead rebuilt his game on the PGA Tour, picking up two more wins and close calls at the 2024 Open Championship and the 2025 and 2026 Masters. Mickelson, Johnson, Garcia and others took the money and left.

Four years later, LIV is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and several of its marquee signings, including Rahm, have had their contracts terminated. Rahm and others are expected to play the DP World Tour in 2027 before pursuing a path back to the PGA Tour. Rose said the exits benefit the sport he chose to stay in. "No hard feelings from my point of view. Everyone is welcome back," Rose said.

What does Rory McIlroy think went wrong with LIV?

Rory McIlroy, speaking separately at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi, argued LIV had a workable premise but badly mismanaged its spending, choosing to pay already-wealthy tour pros rather than invest in the sport's governing bodies. McIlroy and Tiger Woods were among the most vocal opponents of LIV when it launched in 2022, a stance tied in part to the two players' involvement in launching TGL, which required PGA Tour membership to compete.

LIV's bankruptcy filing, not a tour ban, is now the main obstacle standing between its remaining players and a path home.

The return path for players leaving LIV is still unsettled. Rolapp has said the Returning Member Program that allowed Brooks Koepka back onto the PGA Tour is no longer in place, and there have been no discussions about reviving it. He has also said the Tour needs clear proof that a returning player has no remaining contractual ties to LIV before any reinstatement talks begin. Rahm and Garcia have had their contracts terminated and are expected to tee it up on the DP World Tour in 2027; Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson have also had their LIV contracts ended but have not detailed their next move.

Could LIV Golf relaunch as LIV 2.0?

McIlroy told the Bloomberg forum he doubts a reorganized LIV could threaten the established tours even if the bankruptcy process allows it to continue. He pointed to a steady stream of players publicly ruling out a return to a relaunched league, saying it grows harder by the day for LIV to find a path out of Chapter 11. Rose made his comments to the Mirror's Sam Frost in New Delhi, where the DP World India Championship doubled as a staging ground for discussion of what comes next for the players still deciding whether to stay with LIV or head home.