'Tough road back' to PGA Tour from LIV - McIlroy

Rory McIlroy feels it could be a "tough road back" to the PGA Tour for those currently with LIV Golf.

After Saudi Arabia confirmed it was withdrawing financial backing to the breakaway league in April, uncertainty surrounding its future has increased with next week's Team Championship cancelled.

That has left this week's event in Indianapolis as LIV's season finale.

In January, five-time Major winner Brooks Koepka rejoined the PGA Tour under a deal that saw him forfeit any player equity shares for the next five years, while he is also ineligible for the $100m (£73.4m) FedEx Cup bonus scheme this year and had to make a $5m (£3.6m) donation to charity.

McIlroy, who questioned whether those who play on the rival tour have "brought value to LIV", predicted it may be a tougher route back to the PGA Tour for others such as Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm should they wish to end their involvement with LIV.

"I'm not part of the discussions but I'm pretty sure they aren't going to be welcomed back straight away," said the Northern Irishman before the start of this week's BMW Championship at Bellerive Country Club in St Louis.

"They were offered this returning member programme back in February, the one Brooks [Koepka] took, but that has come and gone and I think it was said at the time that the deal they get going forward if they decide to come back would not be as good at the one Brooks got. So I'd say it will be a tough road back."

The career Grand Slam winner reiterated his stance that "LIV has never been a good thing for the game", but refused to take "personal satisfaction from people losing jobs".

Since its inception in 2021, McIlroy has been outspoken in his criticism of LIV which attracted some of golf's biggest stars from the PGA Tour with lucrative contracts.

LIV Golf said it had secured an unnamed lead investor to keep the competition running in 2027.

But McIlroy praised the PGA Tour as he added: "Whatever [LIV] 2.0 looks like, they say they're trying to be more collaborative and all that, but this is the best platform for top professional golfers in the world.

"Were there some things at the start of LIV the PGA Tour could have done better? Sure, but I think if you look back to the start and the guys who went - Phil [Mickleson] was unhappy with some stuff or whatever it was - surely that just warranted a conversation instead of blowing the entire professional game up and doing something else.

"I don't take any personal satisfaction from people losing jobs - that doesn't seem right - but I have always felt this is the best place to play professional golf and I'm pretty sure if the PGA Tour was handed $6bn (£4.4bn) it would have done a better job than LIV."

McIlroy shot eight-over par to finish 66th overall at last week's FedEx St Jude Championship in Memphis and felt "progress from where I was last week would be a win for me" as he prepared for the BMW Championship.