SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Justin Thomas doesn’t believe PGA Tour golfers who defected to LIV should be allowed to easily return to the PGA Tour.
His comments came a week after Rory McIlroy said the opposite, that PGA Tour golfers who joined LIV should be allowed to return to the PGA Tour because “it’s hard to punish people.”
“I would say that there’s a handful of players on LIV that would make the Tour a better place, but I’m definitely not in the agreement that they should just be able to come back that easily,” Thomas said Tuesday, two days before the WM Phoenix Open kicks off at the TPC Scottsdale.
“I think there’s a lot of us that made sacrifices and were very — whether it’s true to our word or what we believe in or just didn’t make that decision, and I totally understand that things are changing and things are getting better, but it just would — I would have a hard time with it, and I think a lot of guys would have a hard time with it, and I’m sure we don’t need to convince you why we would have a hard time with it.”
However, Thomas isn’t against former members of the PGA Tour returning from LIV at some point.
“I think there’s a scenario somewhere, whatever it is, down the road of some kind of version of some guys being back,” Thomas said. “But when and what that is, I have no idea.”
Thomas’ remarks came in the wake of the announcement that the Strategic Sports Group – a consortium of billionaire team owners that includes Tom Werner and John Henry (Boston Red Sox), Arthur Blank (Atlanta Falcons) and Wyc Grousbeck (Boston Celtics) — would invest an initial $1.5 billion in the PGA Tour, with the potential for another $1.5 billion to be injected in PGA Tour.
Asked Tuesday about his thoughts on the PGA Tour moving forward on its own without an investment from the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which owns LIV, or continue working toward a merger with LIV to unite golf, Thomas said he’s not “not necessarily super adamant one way or the other.”
“I want the best product and the best players,” Thomas said.
Thomas understands that’s part of the goal of SSG’s financial injection to the PGA Tour. With that, however, Thomas expects there to be changes to the tour, although he didn’t know what that looks like.
“I’m not sure. I really don’t know,” Thomas said. “You don’t get to be who they are and you also don’t invest that much money for fun just because you love the game of golf. Clearly, this is something that they view as an investment, and to be able to have it grow, which is exciting as a player but also as a fan of golf because for that to continue to grow and get better, then our product is going to get better, which is going to be more fan friendly to watch.
“Everything about it should continue to get better and more and more watchable and enjoyable and just people wanting to be fans of golf. That part of it is exciting to me, both as a player and as a fan.”
This story originally appeared on ESPN
