When the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit launched in 2022, Justin Rose emerged as a prime acquisition target. A former major champion and world No. 1 navigating a late-career slump, Rose fit the profile of the established star LIV hoped to attract with lucrative contracts. While Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, and others accepted the offers, Rose declined, choosing instead to rebuild his game through hard work and reclaim his place among the sport’s elite.
“My career goals have always required me to stay on the European Tour and PGA Tour, since that path simply isn’t available through LIV,” Rose explained on Sunday after winning the Farmers Insurance Open, reflecting on his decision to reject the league and its wider consequences.
“At the end of the day, I want to compete against the best players in the world. That’s what drives me, keeps me hungry, and pushes me forward,” he continued. “Other paths may have been easier, but they never excited me, nor would they have given me access to what I wanted to achieve. I always believed my younger self wouldn’t respect a choice that meant abandoning those dreams.”
For Rose, the decision was never about money. He believed his ambitions were still within reach, attainable only through hard work and dedication to his craft. That faith paid off: he has twice returned to the winner’s circle on the PGA Tour and came close at the 2024 Open Championship, as well as the 2025 and 2026 Masters.
More than four years after LIV’s debut, the rebel league is navigating bankruptcy proceedings as it attempts to reinvent itself as LIV 2.0 without Saudi financial backing. Several high-profile players, including Jon Rahm, have already left the circuit, aiming to return to the tours they once left behind. Rahm and others are expected to compete on the DP World Tour in 2027 before potentially rejoining the PGA Tour once penalties for defectors are resolved.
Rory McIlroy, who once served as the PGA Tour’s leading voice during golf’s split, has expressed no objection to welcoming defectors back to restore unity in the sport. Rose shares that sentiment.
“Jon Rahm’s departure benefits the established tours—strengthening the DP World Tour in the short term and the PGA Tour over the long run,” Rose told Sam Frost of The Mirror at the DP World India Championship in New Delhi. “Jon isn’t alone; many other talented players face similar circumstances. It’s been an experiment, a whirlwind four or five years, but I hold no hard feelings. Everyone is welcome back. Having the best players compete against each other as often as possible is great for golf—that’s always been the goal.”
Rose acknowledged that LIV’s arrival caused significant disruption to professional golf, but he believes the upheaval ultimately helped all players, regardless of which tour they chose. Now that the conflict is ending, he said it is time to look ahead.
“The disruption forced the PGA Tour and DP World Tour to improve,” Rose said. “I believe nearly every player has benefited in some way, and I hope we can now reach a settlement and establish a sustainable balance.”
Earlier this week at an economic forum in New Delhi, McIlroy explained where he believed LIV Golf and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) misstepped, and why he, Tiger Woods, and others rejected the league early on, convinced it was detrimental to the sport and destined to fail.
“LIV had maybe half of a good idea, but the execution was poor,” McIlroy said at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum. “They had significant capital, yet much of it was wasted. The money could have been deployed more strategically, perhaps through partnerships with golf’s governing bodies, rather than simply enriching tour professionals who were already well compensated.”
“Tiger Woods and I were among the most vocal critics from the start in 2022,” McIlroy said. “We also stood to lose the most in terms of our standing within the PGA Tour. We believed LIV wasn’t good for the game and would fracture it. At the same time, everyone in golf has competing interests—we were preparing to launch TGL, and we feared LIV would draw players away, especially since PGA Tour membership was required for TGL. People naturally protect their own interests, but they must also consider the broader health of the game.”
LIV’s bankruptcy case is progressing through the courts. On Wednesday, league lawyers said they would know by month’s end whether LIV is winding down or moving forward with version 2.0. Regardless of the Chapter 11 outcome, McIlroy believes golf’s civil war is finally over.
“It’s difficult,” McIlroy said regarding LIV’s prospects of launching version 2.0. “Each day brings another former LIV player saying they won’t rejoin. Exiting Chapter 11 and moving forward will be very difficult. But even if they succeed, they won’t pose anything like the threat to golf’s traditional order that they once did.”
The path back to the PGA Tour for Rahm and other LIV defectors remains uncertain. PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp has not indicated when, if, or how returning players might be welcomed. Rolapp noted that the “Returning Member Program,” which facilitated Brooks Koepka’s return, is no longer available and has no plans for revival. He added that the Tour requires clear proof that any prospective returnee has no contractual obligations to LIV before discussions can begin. Rahm, Sergio Garcia, and others have had their contracts terminated and are expected to play on the DP World Tour in 2027, while Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson, whose contracts were also terminated, have yet to clarify their futures.
Even if LIV 2.0 launches, professional golf’s civil war appears to be over. Rose and McIlroy are ready to set aside old grievances and reunite the sport so it can move forward.
“A rising tide lifts all boats,” McIlroy said of welcoming defectors back. “Bringing these players back would benefit the business of the tours.”
