Rory McIlroy has warned that LIV Golf players hoping to return to the PGA Tour face a difficult path back, amid growing uncertainty over the Saudi-backed league's future. Saudi Arabia withdrew its financial backing from LIV in April, and the league has now cancelled next week's Team Championship, leaving this week's Indianapolis event as its season finale, though LIV says it has secured a new lead investor to continue in 2027.

McIlroy pointed to Brooks Koepka's January return to the PGA Tour, under a deal requiring him to forfeit player equity for five years, miss out on the $100m FedEx Cup bonus scheme this year, and donate $5m to charity, as a benchmark that later returnees such as Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm are unlikely to match. He reiterated that "LIV has never been a good thing for the game" while insisting he takes no satisfaction from people losing their jobs, and praised the PGA Tour as still the best platform for elite golfers ahead of this week's BMW Championship in St Louis.