PIF pulling its funding from LIV Golf did not just create a financial problem. It forced every player in the league to finally think and answer a question they had been dodging for years: do they want to return to the PGA Tour? If not all LIV golfers, then at least Joaquin Niemann will seek a PGA Tour return.

Speaking to Beyond the Clubhouse, the golfer said, “I mean, I would love to keep playing golf, of course. I have got the DP World Tour. I don’t have status there, but it would be nice to go and play there. And then if one day we can go back to the PGA Tour, I would love to play on the PGA Tour. Those are the scenarios that could happen if LIV disappears, which I don’t think is going to happen.”

Joaquin Niemann has clearly thought through his options. Coming from someone who won five LIV tournaments in 2025 and was named the league’s face, his calm reaction to the funding news says more than most players have been willing to say out loud.

Joaquin Niemann’s relationship with tours outside LIV has always been transactional, but he has expressed a strong desire to play specific, historic PGA Tour events alongside his LIV Golf commitments:
  • The Genesis Invitational: Hosted by Tiger Woods at Riviera Country Club, this is a tournament Niemann holds in high regard, especially after his 2022 victory.
  • The Players Championship: Often considered the “fifth major,” Niemann has mentioned this tournament as a premier event he would love to play annually.
  • The Cognizant Classic (formerly Honda Classic): Niemann has identified this event, usually held at PGA National, as another favorite he misses.

Back in January 2024, he was open about why he played the Hero Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour: “I am going to Dubai for the DP World just because of (ranking) points, nothing else, and to try and get into the Masters.”

He also won the 2023 ISPS Handa Australian Open, a DP World Tour co-sanctioned event, for the same reason. Joaquin Niemann currently holds no full membership on either the DP World Tour or the PGA Tour.

When asked about losing PIF funding, Niemann kept his composure: “It is what it is. I guess we have to get a new business plan. I feel like people under pressure work better. I think it’s going to be good for the league.”

 

Niemann left in 2022 and holds two wins on the circuit, the 2019 Greenbrier and 2022 Genesis Invitational. Despite Phil Mickelson calling him a top-10 player in the world, two-time US Open champion Curtis Strange said in 2025 that Niemann needs to be on the DP World Tour or PGA Tour to truly validate his record, pointing to a best major finish of only tied 16th at the 2023 Masters.

For now, the 27-year-old remains fully committed to LIV. He opened the 2026 season with a hole-in-one at LIV Golf Mexico City and followed it with a T11 finish at Mayakoba. Whether LIV finds a sustainable business model or not, Joaquin Niemann has a clear plan B, and it involves the biggest stages in golf.

Well, the Chilean is not the only LIV star reconsidering his future.

Other LIV Golf players are also weighing their options

Unlike Joaquin Niemann, Belgium’s Thomas Pieters has shut the door completely on a PGA Tour return.

“I’m definitely never going back to the PGA Tour. I’ve never liked that life,” Pieters told Dan on Golf, adding that the DP World Tour would be his likely fallback if LIV folds.

Meanwhile, Bryson DeChambeau has made clear that any potential return to the PGA Tour depends entirely on whether current members want him back.

“It’s really if the players want me back, and if not, then I understand that,” he said, putting the ball squarely in the Tour’s court rather than its executives.

The PGA Tour’s membership decisions are heavily player-driven. Its policy board includes names like Patrick Cantlay, Adam Scott, and Tiger Woods as a permanent director. The Player Advisory Council, featuring Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, and Justin Thomas, among others, directly shapes who gets welcomed back.

Jon Rahm’s situation adds another layer. After PIF cut LIV’s funding, Rahm quietly settled his long-running dispute with the DP World Tour, agreeing to pay over $3 million in fines and play five DPWT events before the 2026 season ends, a resolution that had been stalled for two years.

What connects all three players is simple. LIV’s funding crisis has forced everyone to stop treating their futures as hypotheticals. Only time will tell whether their faith in LIV Golf will be restored or the PGA Tour will get those similar names back on the leaderboards.

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