he PGA Tour is done negotiating from weakness. As the 2026 season begins, CEO Brian Rolapp has unveiled a narrow, expensive, and time-limited path for LIV Golf players who want back in — and it’s a move designed to reassert total control.Trey Wingo explains why the PGA Tour now holds all the leverage, how the return window favors only true star players like Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm, and why most LIV golfers are effectively locked out for good. This is not about peace. It’s about power, timing, and consequences.Wingo also breaks down the most telling detail of the policy: Phil Mickelson’s complete exclusion. By defining eligibility strictly around major wins during the LIV era, the PGA Tour sends an unmistakable message about who it values — and who it doesn’t.This is a clear declaration of dominance from the PGA Tour, borrowing straight from the NFL playbook. If you want back, it’s now, it’s expensive, and it’s on their terms. No extensions. No second chances.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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