Rory McIlroy Decides LIV Golf Renegades Should Be Forgiven if They Seek PGA Return

• Rory McIlroy has been among the harshest critics of players accepting LIV Golf offers
• John Rahm and Tyrell Hatton are the latest European stars to join the Saudi league
• International golfing hierarchies are in discussions about allowing cross-participation

Hard attitudes eventually thaw through retrospective lenses.

Rory McIlroy has admitted to being 'too harsh' on his golfing colleagues who chose to explore new territory with LIV Golf.

The former member of the PGA's policy board stated that he is open to players returning to the PGA, as their exclusion was having a negative effect on the tour.

The Northern Irishman is in California preparing for the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and spoke on the news that World Number 16, Tyrell Hatton, has joined World Number 3, John Rahm, as the latest LIV Golf-bound departures of 2024.

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LIV Golf members are banned from playing on the PGA Tour but Sports Illustrated reports that the two parties, as well as the DP World Tour, are currently negotiating a deal to unify international golfing interests.

No longer seeking to block former opponents and teammates from switching between competitions, McIlroy was quoted by SkySports saying:

"I've changed my tune on that. Having a diminished PGA Tour and having a diminished LIV Tour or anything else is bad for both parties."

Fans and players want what is best for the sport, and McIlroy agrees that a pathway should be made for a unified structure. Reuters quoted:

"The faster that we can all get back together and start to have the strongest fields possible I think is great for golf."

LIV Golf begin their league schedule in Mexico on February 2 before moving to Las Vegas the following weekend.

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The Pebble Beach Pro-Am is the fifth PGA event of the year, which will be followed by the Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale.

Rory McIlroy LIV Golf standoff

Sports Brief also earlier reported on LIV Golf's response to McIlroy-approved changes for the 2024 PGA Tour.

The changes included limited fields at exclusive events as well as no cuts to deter players from joining LIV Golf.

The PGA Tour's Jay Monahan said the wholesale changes were aimed at delivering a better product to the fans.