![\"Rory](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2274802354-e1778283624979.jpg\")
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Rory McIlroy took a not-so-subtle dig at LIV players. <\/p>\n
For most of his media availability, Rory McIlroy<\/a> played it mostly down the line when it came to LIV<\/a>. By the end, though, the world No. 2 seemingly couldn\u2019t help himself.<\/p>\n The two-time Masters champion spoke about the ongoing reorganization of men\u2019s professional golf at the Truist Championship<\/a> this week. That game of musical chairs might not be done, either, with the announcement that the Saudi Arabian PIF is pulling its funding of LIV, potentially opening the door for some players on the renegade tour to return to the PGA Tour.<\/p>\n Rory McIlroy Calls Out LIV Players Who Don\u2019t Want to Return to PGA Tour<\/p>\n Some have or will look to return, but there were others who said they didn\u2019t really want back on the PGA Tour. Ealier this week, LIV Golf and former PGA Tour veteran<\/a> Anirban Lahiri said, \u201cI know at least a dozen players who\u2019d rather not play golf than go back to the PGA Tour.\u201d<\/p>\n For those players, McIlroy had a message.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you want to be the most competitive golfer you can be, this is the place to be, and if you don\u2019t want to play here, I think that says something about you,\u201d McIlroy told reporters after Round 2<\/a> on May 8.<\/p>\n Ultimately, there are probably going to be more players who do want to return to the Tour. For starters, it\u2019s one of the only games left in town if LIV ceases to exist, and the PGA Tour has legitimate momentum. There\u2019s $20 million on the line<\/a> this week, with $3.6 million up top as the Truist is designated as one of the Tour\u2019s signature events.<\/p>\n How Can LIV Players Return to PGA Tour?<\/p>\n McIlroy sees a path back for those players, but he\u2019s just not sure what that will look like.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a question if they do want to come back,\u201d McIlroy said. \u201cObviously we have seen the quotes over the last few days. And, you know, it seems like some of the guys, if \u2014 again, it all depends on what happens to LIV. But if it is a scenario where they have the option to come back and play on the traditional tours, you know, I think (PGA Tour CEO) Brian Rolapp has said anything that makes this Tour stronger, anything that makes the DP World Tour stronger, I think everyone should be open to that. That\u2019s just good business practice.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, but again, I think there\u2019s going to be a lot of sort of bridges to cross to get there, just because, you know, obviously the guys over there are under contract, and if they\u2019re able to keep it going and get a schedule together next year, it seems like those guys are still going to play the majority of their golf on LIV, in whatever form it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n To that last point, McIlroy offered one other small quip about the future of LIV, which is reportedly seeking funding with the Saudis backing out.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re going to go and try and find alternative investment, whatever that may look like. But when one of the wealthiest sovereign wealth funds in the world thinks that you\u2019re too expensive for them, that sort of says something.\u201d<\/p>\n For those who do want to return, there is precedent. Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka is playing this week at the Myrtle Beach Classic, grinding his way back to full-time status as part of the Tour\u2019s initial pathway program. Meanwhile, former Masters champion Patrick Reed is jetsetting the world with hopes for a return in 2027.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMike Cole<\/a> Mike Cole covers golf as well as the Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans for Heavy.com. He previously worked at NESN where he covered Boston sports (and much more) for 15 years. More about Mike Cole<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Rory McIlroy took a not-so-subtle dig at LIV players. For most of his media availability, Rory McIlroy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":657206,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,622,82],"class_list":["post-657205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=657205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/657206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=657205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=657205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=657205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}