Source: Some LIV players exploring potential of PGA Tour return - ESPN

Multiple representatives for LIV Golf players have started to reach out to the PGA Tour to explore what a path back would look like, a source told ESPN on Wednesday.

A potential return for such players comes amid reports in recent weeks that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund will stop its funding of LIV after the 2026 season, clouding that tour's future.

Earlier Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that LIV is expected to tell its players by Thursday that PIF's funding will stop at season's end. The Telegraph reported that captains of LIV's team already have been informed.

In addition, Sports Business Journal reported Wednesday night that Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of PIF who was behind the creation of LIV, is resigning as the tour's chairman. The SBJ report said LIV was planning to announce Thursday a strategy for moving forward without its primary financial backer, including a new board and plans to seek outside financial partners.

With LIV's future uncertain, the PGA Tour is now in a position where it can choose how it wants players to potentially return and even prioritize who they want back.

In January, PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp introduced a «Returning Member Program» — a performance-based pathway for players who had been away from the tour for at least two years and who had won either the Players Championship or any of the four major championships from 2022 to 2025. Players had until Feb. 2 to decide if they wanted to come back. Brooks Koepka accepted along with several penalties included within it; the other eligible players — Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith — opted not to take part.

With the Returning Member Program expired, the PGA Tour is exploring plans for specific players to