Rory McIlroy has appeared to change his stance on the return of LIV golfers to the PGA Tour.

“I think they’ve already paid their consequence,” McIlroy said in an appearance on the British podcast “The Overlap.” “They’ve made the money, but they’ve paid their consequence in terms of the reputation and some of the things they’ve lost by going over there.”

Brooks Koepka, a five-time major winner, raised the issue of entry back to the PGA Tour with his decision last month to leave LIV. Koepka, who joined LIV in 2022 for a reported nine-figure payday, has not said anything publicly about his decision or what he hopes to be next for him. In a statement, LIV attributed his desire not to play on the fledgling tour in 2026 as a family decision.

The PGA Tour previously has required anyone who plays in a LIV tournament to sit out a full year from their last event on the rival tour, which would make Koepka eligible to play again on the PGA Tour in August. But the way Koepka left for LIV leaves more room for interpretation in that rule. Sources with knowledge of the situation, granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, told The Athletic that because Koepka simply didn’t renew his PGA Tour status at the end of 2022, he would need to reapply, and indications are he plans to.

McIlroy has long been one of LIV Golf’s harshest critics and turned down multi-million-dollar offers to join the tour. The 36-year-old has also said he would rather retire than join LIV Golf.

“I hate them,” McIlroy said of LIV in 2023. “I hope it goes away. We just can’t welcome them back in. It’s hard not to feel like I was a sacrificial lamb. I’ve come to terms with it. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that this is what’s going to happen.”

As the competitor tour has struggled to succeed financially, discussion has increased around the possible return of other LIV golfers to the PGA Tour. McIlroy said he may have been too quick to judge his counterparts who joined the Saudi-backed league.

“I don’t like what it’s done to our game because it’s created this massive fracture,” McIlroy said. “I said on this podcast last time that maybe I was a bit too judgmental of the guys that went because not everyone is in the same position that I’m in. So you get offered double the money to do the same job, it’s sort of hard to turn down.”

In golf’s current format, LIV and PGA Tour golfers only come together for major tournaments and the biennial Ryder Cup. McIlroy believes that is not sufficient.

“For golf to be relevant, we need the best players together more often than that,” McIlroy said.

While the five-time major winner is ready to welcome LIV golfers, he’s not sure if there will be enough support for that move at the moment.

“If it made the overall tour stronger to have Bryson DeChambeau back and whoever else, I would be okay with it,” McIlroy said. “But it’s not just me, and I recognize that not everyone is in my position. It would be up to the collective group of PGA Tour members to make that decision.”