Max Homa says he would “put on my big-boy hat” and welcome back any LIV Golf players who return to the PGA Tour for the good of the game.
While the split in the world of golf looks wider than ever before, one thing that hasn’t been talked about too much is what would happen if a player actually returns from LIV Golf and wants to play on the PGA Tour again.
Many players have simply thanked their former employers, admitted they wanted to make more money but play less golf, and quietly made their way to play in Greg Norman’s Saudi-backed outfit.
Even the biggest of LIV signings like Dustin Johnson have thanked the PGA Tour before making the move, and if he came back on the circuit after his contract ended then he’d likely get a warm welcome.
Several others though, look to have burned plenty of bridges with their comments upon leaving, but with LIV Golf not based on any qualification criteria, they could be released after their contracts end, or even before, if the company wants to move them on.
That raises an interesting prospect of outspoken LIV players having to reintegrate themselves into the PGA Tour, and Homa says that, although he’d like to give them a hard time, he’d welcome them back for the good of golf.
“I’ve thought a lot about this,” Homa said ahead of the Players Championship. “My selfish, petty side would be really frustrated, because I haven’t been annoyed at anyone leaving. It’s your own choice and you have to do what you believe you should do. I’m totally cool with that.
“Things I’ve been joking about it and maybe not so subtle about is some people have said things on their way out that’s been quite frustrating.
“Not saying we’re a family out here; I’m not super-duper close with a ton of guys, but like it does feel like we’re all kind of in this together to push competitive golf and push the game forward.
“So I think my petty side would be a little bit annoyed, but also kind of smiling underneath thinking, okay, welcome, welcome back to what you could have just been doing.
“But I think my unselfish side and my realistic side is that all of those guys that you can name that left are great for golf. Champion golfers, interesting golfers, so many great stories throughout their careers.
“So of course I think if I could put my selfish part aside and maybe put on my big-boy hat, I would realize that having them back would be a good thing for golf at large.”
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan would not be drawn into the hypothetical situation of a returning LIV golfer, but had also heard the question being raised a lot recently.
“Yeah, for some reason I’ve been hearing that a lot lately, and I’m not sure where that’s coming from,” said Monahan. “I mean, players that have, the players that are playing on that tour are contractually obliged to play on that tour.
“So any hypotheticals at this point really aren’t relevant, and I think you know me well enough to know I’m not a big fan of hypotheticals. But our position, to answer your question directly, has not changed.”