When LIV Golf first emerged, Justin Rose was among the players the breakaway league wanted to sign. However, Rose chose to remain loyal to the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. That decision now appears to have paid off, as LIV Golf filed for bankruptcy after Saudi Arabia’s PIF withdrew its funding. With several players now leaving LIV Golf to potentially join the DP World Tour, the former world No. 1 has welcomed their return with open arms.

“[Rahm’s departure] is good for the established tours, whether that be the DP World Tour in the short term or the PGA Tour in the long term,” Justin Rose told Mirror Sports US. “Obviously, Jon’s not the only one. There’s a lot of other great players in situations that he’s found himself in. It’s been an experiment; a whirlwind four or five years. “

LIV Golf made its intentions clear from the start, pulling some of the PGA Tour’s biggest names into its new circuit in 2022. Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau were among the major champions who made the jump.

“No hard feelings from my point of view,” he continued. “Everyone is welcome back. It’s great for golf for players to be able to play against the best players in the world as often as we can. That’s what we’ve always talked about and always wanted. And I think the disruption of it all, the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, have had to become better versions of themselves.”

Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson also left the PGA Tour, giving LIV a roster packed with proven winners and Ryder Cup stars.

“I think basically pretty much every player in the game has benefited one way or another, and hopefully it can now settle and we can find a really good balance,” Rose concluded.

Whether a balance can be found remains to be seen, but this comes after the DP World Tour recently issued an ultimatum to LIV players. They warned the players that signing with LIV 2.0 would mean permanent departure from the European circuit. While LIV’s attorney told the bankruptcy judge that it’s an attempt by the DP World Tour to interfere with their restructuring, LIV Golf continues to lose players at a staggering rate. 

Following Jon Rahm’s move, Sergio Garcia also approached the bankruptcy court seeking a ruling on his contract with the league, prompting LIV Golf to release him from his deal. Other players, including David Puig, Abraham Ancer, Charles Howell III, Adrian Meronk, and Cameron Smith, have also exited the breakaway league. Not to mention, a bankruptcy court judge recently approved LIV Golf’s decision to terminate the contracts of 19 players, including Bryson DeChambeau. 

This mass exodus also suggests that the DP World Tour could see a flood of players coming back to the tour. Meanwhile, the breakaway league now has until October 25 to sign enough players to secure a $300 million investment from BC Partners, which would help keep it afloat for the 2027 season. Regardless, Justin Rose isn’t the only one to welcome players back to the established tours.

Rory McIlroy recently told Bloomberg in an interview that, if he had a vote, he would support bringing LIV players back to the established tours, arguing that it would be good for business.

Similarly, Patrick Reed, who left LIV Golf in January and currently leads the Race to Dubai standings, has said he feels welcomed by both the DP World Tour and its players. However, not everyone is in favour of welcoming LIV Golf returnees back so easily.

Joost Luiten has called on the tour to make the path back significantly more difficult for returning LIV Golf players. He even suggested that they should all go through Q-School to earn their tour cards. However, the DP World Tour may not grant every returning player immediate access to its events. Someone like Jon Rahm, who has already paid his fines and remains a member, could be in a different position.

Others may have to settle their outstanding fines and compete in smaller events before regaining full access to the tour’s biggest tournaments.