Rory McIlroy says he would approve of Bryson DeChambeau and other LIV Golf players returning to the PGA Tour

Rory McIlroy believes golf needs its best players to compete more regularly against each other and would welcome a return from LIV of the likes of Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm.

While the Masters champion admitted one of the side-effects of the Saudi Arabia-backed breakaway was an elevation in status of the majors and Ryder Cup by concentrating all the top players in those events, he said the sport needed them to compete more frequently to stay relevant.

The decision last month by five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, one of the biggest names, to quit was a blow for LIV, which is currently fighting a battle to be awarded world ranking points to aid its claim for credibility.

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His departure throws up a conundrum for the PGA Tour, which has usually insisted players serve a one-year suspension before returning, although a spot on the DP World Tour remains an option as he played a number of events last year.

McIlroy would not object to his return or that of other LIV stars but accepts others may not be so keen.

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"They've made the money but they've paid their consequences in terms of their reputation and some of the things they have lost by going over there," he told The Overlap podcast.

"If it made the overall tour stronger to have Bryson back and whoever else I would be ok with it but I recognise not everyone is in my position - it would be up to the collective group of PGA Tour members to make that decision.

"The thing it [LIV] has done is elevated the majors and the Ryder Cup because only four or five times a year you see all the best players playing together.

"For golf to be relevant I think we need the best players together more often than that."

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McIlroy questioned how much longer LIV could remain viable as it struggled to break through into the mainstream.

Despite luring away top stars with multi-million dollar contracts and last year finally securing television deals, LIV has failed to capture the imagination of the majority of golf fans.

Plans for a partnership with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, announced in the summer of 2023, have stalled even though McIlroy claimed that earlier this year "it was close, but they never got there".

And the Masters champion believes there will come a time when the riches of the PIF money (Saudi's sovereign wealth fund) start to dry up.

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"If LIV is failing to capture the imagination and they've spent so much money on this venture and it's not making a return for them I don't know how much longer they can keep it going," added the Northern Irishman.

"I think, at the end of the day, they just want a seat at the table so how do you give them a seat at the table and try to mend the fracture?

"It's hard because you're trying to give everyone a win but to give everyone a win everyone is going to feel like they have lost."

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