It’s clear the PGA Tour is not ready to upend its standards for LIV golfers this year. While Brooks Koepka returned to the PGA Tour via the returning membership program, it came with a price. He had to agree to a $5-million charity donation, a five-year freeze on equity earnings, and no FedEx Cup bonus money. As harsh as it was, it opened a one-time window for golf’s biggest names to walk back through.

Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm were the ones to skip it. Now, eight months later, as the league faces a bottleneck, the PGA Tour CEO, Brian Rolapp, has made it clear he has no interest in disturbing the rules and the decorum of the tour. Speaking at the press conference, addressing the new overhaul, Brian Rolapp was asked directly if the tour could reopen a returning member program.

“No, there are currently no current plans for a returning member program like you saw earlier this year.”

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Naturally, the question comes because speculation around Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau returning has resurfaced in the last two weeks. Bryson DeChambeau just closed out LIV Indianapolis with a five-worded admission that looked like a final goodbye. As for Jon Rahm, he has already accepted the olive branch extended by the DP World Tour. Moreover, reports have speculated he is ready to move back to earn his PGA Tour card as soon as possible.

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Regardless of the situation, Rolapp did not stop at ruling out the program. He also laid out why any LIV player hoping to rejoin the tour will not find a shortcut waiting for them.

He even broke down his response into three precise reasons.

“One, the PGA Tour is built on meritocracy. Every player has to earn their place based on their performance and their success.” He went on to add the second rule: “The PGA Tour is a membership organization. It has rules. Those rules exist for a lot of reasons, for fair, competitive reasons. Rules matter.” Thirdly, “rules only matter if they’re enforced. So accountability and discipline are essential to any organization and certainly for the integrity of the tour and for the game.”

Earning a PGA Tour card has meant prestige for a lot of players over the years. It has also meant grinding through Q school or the Korn Ferry Tour. The standard is clear. Earning the tour card is a tough task and is given based on meritocracy. Rolapp’s recent comments and changes in the tour make it clear they want to raise the bar for maintaining that card too.

The tour’s board approved the new competitive model under the same limelight. It introduces competition via relegation and promotion starting in 2028. A minimum of 90 players will hold their spots in the top-tier Championship Series. The rest will have to win their way up from the Challengers Series below them.

The standard now applies squarely to Rahm and DeChambeau. Rahm secured a DP World Tour membership in May to preserve his Ryder Cup eligibility. Moreover, reports last week described an apology tour back to the PGA Tour route. Bryson DeChambeau’s LIV contract runs through the end of this year, and he has reportedly sought a deal worth close to $500 million to stay. However, it remains speculation.

Now whether the stars will make their way up to the PGA Tour card remains to be seen. But Sam Burns told OutKick this month that he would welcome Rahm and DeChambeau back, calling it “best for the game of golf as a whole.”

Rolapp’s answer this week suggests that path will run through the same route as everyone else, with no specialty built into them.