Rory McIlroy namechecks two players as he predicts more defections from LIV Golf

Rory McIlroy believes more LIV Golf defections are on the way – namechecking Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed when making the prediction.

McIlroy, who was key in Team Europe’s Ryder Cup success in New York in 2025, believes Koepka’s decision to leave LIV Golf and re-join the PGA Tour serves to highlight the gulf in quality between the two competitions.

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Last month, Koepka became LIV’s first major star to return to the PGA Tour.

The American defected to LIV Golf in 2022 and was banned from the PGA Tour as a result.

However, he announced his decision leave LIV Golf in December in order to prioritise ‘the needs of his family’.

Family comes first

“Family has always guided Brooks’ decisions, and he feels this is the right moment to spend more time at home,” a statement from his representatives read. “Brooks remains passionate about the game of golf.”

LIV Golf chief executive Scott O’Neil said that Koepka’s departure had been ‘amicably and mutually agreed’, adding: “We appreciate the significant impact he has had on the game and wish him continued success, both on and off the course.”

Days after Koepka’s decision was announced, Reed said he would consider following suit if the same terms were offered.

And McIlroy believes that Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour followed by Reed’s admittance that he may follow suit shows that players are starting to recognise the competitive difference between the two circuits.

On Koepka’s decision, McIlroy said: “Yeah, I think it says more about Brooks than anything else. He obviously is a very competitive person and wants to compete at the highest level.

“I think he made the decision that he thought competing at the highest level meant coming back to the PGA Tour.”

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And on Reed’s comments about his future, the 36-year-old added: “You’ve seen others say this recently. Patrick Reed said it in Dubai last week…

“It seems like some of those guys are maybe starting to realise that they’re not getting everything that they wanted out of going over there, and that’s obviously a great thing for the PGA Tour.”

Koepka’s first PGA Tour event

Koepka returned to the PGA Tour knowing full well he would forfeit equity eligibility, FedEx Cup bonus participation for the 2026 season, and immediate access to Signature Events.

In addition, the 35-year-old needs to rebuild his status through full-field tournaments.

Koepka’s first event back on the PGA Tour will be the Farmers Insurance Open, which gets underway this week.

Harris English won the 2025 Farmers Insurance Open, which runs from January 29th to February 1st this year.