08 February 2024 , 17:10
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Scottie Scheffler believes LIV Golf stars should not be given the chance to return to the PGA Tour without punishment, disagreeing with Rory McIlroy.
The potential return of LIV players to the PGA Tour has become a hot topic of conversation in recent weeks, and world No. 1 Scheffler has become the latest to address it ahead of his title defence at this week's Waste Management Phoenix Open.
"You had some guys that left our tour and then sued our tour," Scheffler said in Phoenix. "That wasn't really in great taste. Then you had some other guys that just left and they wanted to do something different.
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"Everybody made their own decision and I have no bad blood towards the guys that left. But a path towards coming back, I think it wouldn't be a very popular decision, I think, if they just came back like nothing ever happened."
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The comments contradict that of McIlroy, who believes any rebel player wanting to make a comeback should be able to do so without sanction. "Guys made choices to go and play LIV, guys made choices to stay here," he said at Pebble Beach last week.
"If people still have eligibility on this tour and they want to come back and play or you want to try and do something, let them come back. I think it’s hard to punish people. I don’t think there should be a punishment."
Scheffler addressed the topic in Phoenix (Getty Images,)The comments are quite the u-turn from McIlroy, who had initially prevailed as one of LIV's biggest critics following its formation in June 2022. "Obviously I’ve changed my tune on that because I see where golf is and I see that having a diminished PGA Tour and having a diminished LIV Tour or anything else is bad for both parties," he added. "It would be much better being together and moving forward together for the good of the game."
One man who has followed the same line as Scheffler in regard to McIlroy's comments is Justin Thomas, who also voiced his concerns at the likes of Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm making a return from the breakaway league. Despite being keen to see the two rival tours settle their differences, Thomas would struggle to welcome back the LIV cohort like nothing had ever happened.
He said: "I would say that there’s a handful of players on LIV that would make the tour a better place, but I’m definitely not in the agreement that they should just be able to come back that easily. I think there’s a lot of us that made sacrifices and were very – whether it’s true to our word or what we believe in or just didn’t make that decision, and I totally understand that things are changing and things are getting better.
"I would have a hard time with it, and I think a lot of guys would have a hard time with it, and I’m sure we don’t need to convince you why we would have a hard time with it."