'Inside The Ropes' is the chance for Golf Monthly's expert team to share its honest thoughts on the biggest subjects in the game. This week, it's about which pros the PGA Tour might want to bring back from LIV Golf.
The future of the LIV Golf League remains up in the air, despite the circuit's recent announcement that steps are being taken to secure alternative funding to the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
For the time being, the circuit ploughs on regardless. CEO Scott O'Neil is adamant the 2026 campaign will continue on uninterrupted, but the reality is no one is quite sure what will happen after that.
While it remains faint at this stage, there is the possibility that LIV could cease to exist in the short term. Alternatively, it may have to drastically scale back its operation to create a sustainable business plan.
Should that happen, some of its bigger starts might choose to look elsewhere for playing opportunities - namely the PGA Tour or DP World Tour.
But which of LIV's current crop would the PGA Tour want to bring back? After all, not everyone is going to be happy with each returning star, so Brian Rolapp better be sure about those he chooses.
While it is all highly theoretical at this stage, three of Golf Monthly's tour experts have picked out who they would prioritize from LIV's stable. Let us know who you'd choose in the comments box below this article.
EH: The simple answer to which LIV Golfers would improve the PGA Tour would be Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm. The pair are LIV Golf's biggest stars and would immediately make the PGA Tour more competitive and watchable.
But I wouldn't stop there. In fact, I think LIV has lots of players that would make the PGA Tour better, in terms of competition, characters and storylines. They might not all be field headliners but they would add recognizable names and depth to tournaments.
Let's not forget that many of LIV's players are former PGA Tour winners and the fracture in the sport has hurt the tour's field strength and overall product, with many of the weaker events featuring many players casual fans have never heard of.
Don't get me wrong, the PGA Tour is still far and away the premier circuit and it has ridden out the LIV threat very well, but it does still miss some of the players who left, in my opinion.
EH: In an ideal world, I'd love to see the likes of Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson, Joaquin Niemann, Tyrrell Hatton, Sergio Garcia, Talor Gooch, Ian Poulter, Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz, Marc Leishman, Peter Uihlein, Paul Casey, Thomas Detry and Sebastian Munoz return.
They're all PGA Tour winners or at least former card holders and would add intrigue to events and returning 'villain' storylines.
Another player who would undoubtedly improve the Tour would be Anthony Kim. He might struggle, as many of the aforementioned names would too, but he would draw eyeballs and be worthy of a few sponsor's invites.
I'd also like to see Josele Ballester, Tom McKibbin, David Puig and Caleb Surratt - LIV's young guns - test themselves on the circuit. I understand these players all 'made their beds' by joining LIV Golf and the PGA Tour is full now anyway, so seeing them competing there is highly unlikely, at least in the short term. But the question was which players would improve the Tour, and I think these all would.
NB: Given LIV Golf has been going for four years, it's perhaps an indictment of the Saudi-backed circuit that only a handful of its players would make the PGA Tour stronger.
Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith and Dustin Johnson are the obvious first answers to this question, even though Smith's form has completely fallen off a cliff.
Before Smith made the move, he'd just won The Open at St Andrews and he was a top-five player in the world. If someone has that pedigree, there's always a chance they can find form again.
Johnson is also a shadow of his former self and doesn't seem remotely bothered about the prospect of playing more competitive golf, but he's a big name with a resume that speaks for itself.
NB: Beyond the Major champions, I think Louis Oosthuizen, Joaquin Niemann, Abraham Ancer and Tyrrell Hatton would make the PGA Tour stronger. Oozthuizen is in his 40s now, but like Smith, he was playing golf of an extremely high standard before he made the move.
Niemann was a top-ten player in the world before his move and Ancer breached the top 20, and both players would make the tour more popular in the Latin American market. Hatton is a world-class golfer on his day, too.
There are some decent golfers outside of the aforementioned players – the likes of Thomas Detry, Sergio Garcia and Talor Gooch – but I'm not sure they'd necessarily make the PGA Tour stronger. The one player I'd love to see back is Phil Mickelson, because I think it would be pure theatre.
JL: I think there are 10 LIV golfers which would make the PGA Tour a better product right now.
Jon Rahm, Joaquin Niemann and Bryson DeChambeau should require little to no explanation while the likes of Phil Mickelson and Tyrrell Hatton are also no-brainers right off the bat if we're playing the hypothetical game (which would have to be true in Lefty's case).
Where it becomes a little more interesting is regarding names such as Louis Oosthuizen, Bubba Watson and Sergio Garcia. Yes, they're big names, but their abilities are on the wane and I'm not sure they would improve the top end of a PGA Tour leaderboard. Either way, they're probably worth going after.
JL: The final two names I believe would improve the PGA Tour right now are Cameron Smith and Anthony Kim. Smith must surely retain some of that all-conquering ability from four or five years ago, but it would still be a bit of a punt from the PGA Tour's point of view.
Then there is Kim. He undoubtedly has the entertaining personality and - proved via his LIV Golf win earlier this year - the ability is clearly still there as well.
My only questions would surround whether he has any desire to come back to the PGA Tour and how long Kim can continue to compete at the top level for now he's in his 40s and has spent over a decade away from the sport?
Do you agree with any or all of our tour experts? Share your opinion on which LIV golfers (if any) would improve the PGA Tour in the comments box below.
