Rory McIlroy has been told he was wrong by former PGA Tour winner Brandel Chamble over his stance on allowing LIV Golf stars to return to the PGA Tour without consequence.
McIlroy, who experienced massive success last year, previously admitted the sport needs its best players to compete more regularly against each other and would welcome a return to the PGA Tour from the likes of Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm.
The Masters champion believes one of the side effects of the LIV Saudi Arabia-backed breakaway was an elevation in the status of the majors and Ryder Cup by concentrating all the top players in those events.
McIlroy suggested the sport's top stars need to compete more frequently to stay relevant.
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He told The Overlap podcast: "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.
"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."
Rory McIlroy has been told he was wrong
| PAReacting to the comments, Chamblee disagrees completely, pointing to Brooks Koepka, who in December was announced not to be returning to LIV Golf.
The 36-year-old American still had 12 months remaining on his reported $100m contract but was allowed to leave to "prioritise the needs" of his family.
Speculation has been growing on whether Koepka will be permitted to return to the PGA Tour at some point this season.
Chamblee warned that a dangerous precedent could be set if the move was permitted.
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Brandel Chamblee warned that a dangerous precedent could be set if the move was permitted
|GETTY
He said: "I would just say that institutions that forget about the cost of disruption invite repetition, and so for that reason I think the PGA Tour needs to be careful about setting a precedent here.
"To allow Brooks to come back with no consequence, I think, would undermine the meritocratic foundations that are the one thing that makes the PGA Tour legitimate. It's not about retribution. It's about setting a precedent.
"Institutions protect themselves by having rules that apply even to elite players-especially to elite players.
"And the PGA Tour is not just a showcase for great talent. It's an institution, and they function only if commitment has meaning, contracts have meaning, defection has consequences, and loyalty is not optional for elite players."
Five things to know about Rory McIlroy | GETTYHe added: "If they allow Brooks to come back after leaving and causing or contributing to the disruption of the game and normalising defection to LIV, the message will be clear that the rules only apply to the expendable and not to the exceptional- and I think that's corrosive."
Chamblee also acknowledged that the majority of golf fans want to see the best players compete against each other.
He stated: "But you can't forget about what they did and the consequences of their actions. They hurt the PGA Tour. They hurt the ecosystem of the game.
"If you let them come back without any consequence, then you've privileged those who defected over those who stayed—and again, that's not right. The damage they did was systemic; it was not symbolic."
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