A number of golfers find themselves in a difficult position after the shock merge of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
The two entities signed an agreement in principle on Tuesday, and their rights to a new, unnamed and unconfirmed company, in theory putting an end to two years of what has been dubbed 'golf's civil war.'
The deal will effectively see the end of the feud between the two circuits, with LIV golfers being roundly criticised for leaving the PGA Tour and joining LIV - where they were given huge contracts.
However since a number of big-name golfers joined the Saudi-backed entity in 2022, fellow stars who remained loyal to the PGA Tour, had been critical of them, their decision and the new circuit.
Here, Mirror Sport takes a look at five big names in the sport who criticised LIV, who might now be left in an awkward position having to play with them next year.
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy was disappointed by the way several players initially pledged their allegiances towards the PGA Tour before dramatically joining the rebel circuit, and was in many ways the frontman for the PGA and DP World Tours.
He said: "I guess I took a lot of players’ statements at face value. I guess that’s what I got wrong. You had people committed to the PGA Tour, and that’s what the statements were that were put out. People went back on that.
"It’s disappointing. The players that are staying on the PGA Tour feel slighted in some way. If those guys thought outside of themselves, they would see this is not the best for everyone."
And ahead of the PGA Championship at Wentworth where 18 LIV golfers played, McIlroy said: "Look, my opinion is they [LIV golfers] shouldn’t be here. They have been paid a lot of money to go and play on a different tour that is trying to buy the game of professional golf, and they are taking places away from players who really need spots this week."
Tiger Woods
Along with McIlroy, Woods was one of the biggest opponents of the LIV Golf series, as the two led a meeting with fellow anti-LIV PGA Tour pros.
When players first made the move to LIV, Woods - second only to Jack Nicklaus with his 15 major titles, accused the players of 'turning their backs' on the PGA.
He said: "I just don’t understand it. I just don’t see how that move is positive in the long-term for a lot of these players. I disagree with it [the players’ decision to join LIV Golf]. I think that what they’ve done is they’ve turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position.”
"What is the incentive to practice and earn it in the dirt? I know what the PGA Tour stands for and what we have done and what the Tour has given us, the ability to chase after our careers and to earn what we get and the trophies we have been able to play for and the history that has been a part of this game."
He added: "I disagree with it. Some players have never had a chance to even experience playing on one of the Tours. They have gone right from the amateur ranks to that organisation and never really had a chance to feel what it is like to play a schedule or play in big events. Some of these players may not ever get a chance to play in major championships."
Justin Thomas
Two-time US Open champion Thomas aimed a dig at LIV Golf after they had criticised the PGA Tour, when they had announced 'elevated events' with reduced fields and no midway cut.
LIV tweeted: "Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Congratulations PGA Tour. Welcome to the future," before Thomas responded.
He said: "Well, we have an astronomically higher amount of quality players than they do in their events. I think all of us have not been shy to say it that, you know, this is stuff that we've been trying to do and have worked on.
"Obviously got sped up a crazy amount due to what was going on in the outside. I don't know, I mean if you're just going to single out those [no-cut] events and have them only be the events we have, then, yeah, it's extremely similar [to LIV].
"But there's a lot more going on over the course of an entire year on the PGA Tour than just the elevated events, I would say."
Justin Rose
The English star revealed his concerns on joining LIV, stating that it 'sounds good on paper' but found 'too many hurdles'.
He said: "There’s been moments where it all sounds pretty good on paper. But there was never a moment in time where all the top players could get behind it because there were too many unanswered questions around, specifically, world ranking points. That was probably the major hurdle that I faced.
“I couldn’t get away from wanting to play major championship golf. I don’t have exemptions down the line four or five years into the majors so my only way in is by maintaining a good world ranking. That became a bit of a non-negotiable from my point of view.
"You know there’s going to be consequences to that decision (of joining LIV) and obviously the rulings will determine whether that’s good or bad for them, so we shall see.
Rickie Fowler
After turning down a big offer to join LIV, Fowler sent a shot at them stating that the PGA cannot be duplicated.
He said: "This place can’t be duplicated. You can try, but the amount of time and effort that’s gone into this over decades to get it to where it is now.
"Places try and do some stuff to get the energy up and get some stands and crowds around a certain hole or area.“
