Gary Player had once said that anyone who joins LIV won’t have confidence in their future. Four years later, with Saudi funding gone and the return window closing, his words came true. Now, speaking on the Fried Egg Golf podcast, he has made his position even clearer.

When Kevin Van Valkenburg asked the 9x major champion about LIV’s future, he said, “It’s unlikely. I’m not saying it won’t happen, but to that degree, you might find somebody saying, ‘Well, we’ll take it over, but we’ll cut the prize money by 10.'” On players returning to the PGA Tour, he was equally blunt: “These guys took the money, they made their bed and that’s fine, that was a choice. But now if they want to come back, are you going to kick the guys who stayed in the a–? No. Whatever reason they’re accepted back, there is going to have to be some sacrifice, some penalty, something.”

The PGA Tour created a formal pathway back, though: a Returning Member Program that required eligible players to give up their Player Equity Program earnings for five years and make a $5 million charitable contribution. Brooks Koepka has accepted those terms and is back in active competition. DeChambeau and Rahm passed, with the financial penalties too steep. That window is now closed, and it’s all down to the tour for what happens next.

Well, Player’s concern goes beyond player movement. Since its launch in 2022, the PIF had invested between $5B and $8B into LIV but pulled out after the 2026 season, citing massive operational losses and projections that the league would not be profitable for another five to 10 years. LIV is spending more than $40 million per event and still doesn’t have a major television broadcast deal in key markets.

Player also touched on competitive legitimacy. “When Arnold, Jack, and I won a tournament, we were the champions of the world that week. Now you’ve got half a champion. Don’t ever tell yourself you’re the champion of the world because you’re not.” It is a point about a fractured game, not just individual players.

His stance, though, has notably shifted. In 2022, Player told the BBC that LIV was “a tour for people who don’t have confidence in their future” and said he would not take a billion dollars for his nine majors. Then, in March 2026, after LIV’s debut in South Africa drew over 100,000 fans across four days, the 90-year-old congratulated DeChambeau on his playoff victory over Rahm. He said, “exactly the kind of drama that lifts our sport.” The criticism has softened, even if his concerns about legitimacy remain.

LIV itself is racing against the clock. The league is looking to raise over $250M via investment bank Ducera Partners. CEO Scott O’Neil has been touting team valuations at $300 million, citing a recently signed media rights deal with Sony Pictures Networks India as evidence of growth. Management has said that if it can raise the entire amount, the league will be profitable in 20 months. LIV needs to get that deal done in early October before its last Saudi cash runs out.

But not all LIV golfers want to come back.

For some, retirement beats returning

Anirban Lahiri pushed back hard. “I will not name names, but I know at least a dozen players who’d rather not play golf than go back to the PGA Tour,” he told The Times.

Anyway, the return path won’t be simple for players like Lahiri. Without the major championship pedigree of a Koepka, they’re looking at a one-year ban plus qualifying school with no guarantee of earning a card at the end. The easiest part of this was Koepka’s $5 million penalty.

Thomas Pieters went even further, saying he is “definitely never going back to the PGA Tour” and would rather retire than return. These are not fringe views. They represent a section of the LIV roster that the reunion conversation consistently ignores.

PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp has not exactly rolled out the welcome mat either. “We’re interested in having the best players who can help our tour. Not every player can do that,” he said. So while Player talks about sacrifice being necessary, Rolapp is quietly clarifying that sacrifice alone will not be enough.