Jon Rahm is certainly not happy with what’s going on at LIV Golf. And while he may be committed to playing through the season, he has stated looking for a way out. But where does that way lead for the Spaniard? Gary Player believes that, despite his status in the sport, Rahm shouldn’t be allowed to return to the PGA Tour without any repercussions.

Player joined the Vanity Index Podcast to say, “Tom Watson had a point at Augusta this year. He says if they want to come back, they have made all this money. They can’t just walk back onto the Tour now. It’s not fair to the players that are playing now, and they should go to one of the minor Tours and have to pre-qualify to get on the Tour.”

Tom Watson, Jack Nicklaus, and Player were the honorary starters of the 2026 Masters Tournament. After they teed off, they sat down for a press conference to discuss the current climate of golf. That’s when Watson discussed the situation of LIV Golf pros possibly coming back.

He told the reporters, “I thought the LIV players, when they left, they were supposed to be banned for life. If I was commissioner, that’s what I would do. I’d say if you’re finished with your contract with LIV Golf, if you want to play the PGA TOUR again, you come back, and you must play the Korn Ferry Tour for a year to qualify for it.”

According to the legend, LIV Golf pros shouldn’t find it easy to return to the Tour immediately. Especially when they were quick to deflect and betray the Tour when they got the opportunity to earn more money. Watson believed that every player should be forced to earn their PGA Tour membership again through the Korn Ferry Tour. tt’s worth mentioning that his comments were targeted at Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed back then. And he also explained why the players need to be punished.

“If you win a tournament today, you’re not the world champion anymore. When Arnold (Palmer), Jack (Nicklaus), (Lee) Trevino, and (Tom) Watson, these guys with Sam Snead and Ben Hogan, when they won a tournament, they were the world champions because you didn’t have two Tours. Now you win a Tour, you’re half a champion. Here you have got two Tours separated from each other.”

When LIV Golf was created, golf was split into two distinct Tours. That created a lot of debate over the best rosters and best players. While the likes of Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, and Cameron Smith won majors during their time away, they caused a lot of imbalance in the sport. And to regain that balance won’t be easy. Even if Player wants them to come together.

“Would I like to see them together? Yes, if I was the owner of the world of golf, I don’t know how you do it when they have been paid. Now they want to come back, and now the guys say, ‘Well, look, they had all their money, now they want to come back to our Tour.’ They want the cake and eat it.”

Allowing the LIV Golf players a straight pathway for return will cause chaos within the existing PGA Tour roster. Not everyone will welcome those who left willingly and criticized others for staying back. There were already a few voices that spoke against Koepka’s reinstatement.

In fact, Wyndham Clark also held the same opinion as Player, as he told the reporters, “I personally really like Brooks, and I think it’s ultimately really good for the PGA Tour, but also, it’s kind of frustrating that he’s able to get the cake and also eat it, so I’m very torn.”

This shows how the mindset of the current PGA Tour talent works. But the LIV Golf players’ actions are not helping them earn any favors as well.

Bryson DeChambeau proved why Gary Player wants the players to be punished

Despite the sinking ship of LIV Golf after PIF’s announcement, the players are not done being greedy about the opportunities they receive. One of them is Bryson DeChambeau, who hasn’t shied away from publicly stating his views on the subject.

It’s not like DeChambeau and his camp haven’t tried to find common ground with the PGA Tour executives. However, things didn’t pan out the way they expected them to. The PGA Tour officials didn’t bend to their will, and that left DeChambeau frustrated.

In a statement, DeChambeau told the media, “So, if I were to film a video during the week of one of their events with a content creator or somebody, a celebrity or whatnot, that would be in violation, and, from my knowledge, they didn’t let me do it when I was on there. I asked numerous times.”

He wanted to integrate more of his content creation portfolio into his PGA Tour pursuit. But the Tour’s executives denied him permission to do so. Considering that Grant Horvat & Co. also faced the same challenges, it’s understandable. In fact, Horvat also declined an invitation from an official PGA Tour event because he couldn’t film it with his crew. Maybe their focus on content creation instead of professional golf events is what is putting Brian Rolapp & Co. off.

Such complex situations might all be off-putting for legends like Gary Player & Co. So it’s understandable if they are not in favor of such stars returning to the PGA Tour immediately.