Before the 2026 season, LIV Golf has been under scrutiny with changes to its roster. While the league is reportedly on its way to welcome Thomas Detry and Elvis Smylie, it has faced a significant setback from PGA Tour professional Akshay Bhatia.

According to reports, the Saudi PIF-backed golf league recently gave a ‘lucrative’ offer to two-time PGA Tour winner, Bhatia. However, the golfer has chosen to be on the side of the PGA Tour, reportedly rejecting LIV Golf’s proposal.

After Rex Hoggard, co-host of the Golf Channel podcast, published the report on Bhatia, NUCLR GOLF reshared it on X and wrote:

“❌💰JUST IN — Akshay Bhatia has rejected a “lucrative” offer to join the LIV Golf league, with the 2-time winner opting to remain on the PGA Tour, multiple sources tell Golf Channel. (Via @RexHoggardGC)”

Take a look at NUCLR GOLF’s X post:

If reports on Akshay Bhatia are true, LIV Golf did miss a golden chance of welcoming a talented professional on its side. Bhatia has played the Tour Championship for the past two seasons. In 2025, despite picking up no wins, the American pro golfer finished 13th on the FedEx Cup Standings.

Besides Akshay Bhatia, another PGA Tour pro has reportedly rejected LIV’s offer.

Akshay Bhatia is not the only PGA Tour pro who reportedly turned down LIV Golf’s offer

Weeks before reports of Akshay Bhatia’s refusal, LIV Golf allegedly sent a proposal to PGA Tour pro, Si Woo Kim. There were also reports that Kim would take Kevin Na’s place in the rebranded edition of the Ironheads GC.

However, after days of speculation, a Korean News outlet reported that the four-time PGA Tour winner had rejected LIV’s offer. The outlet also shared a statement from a member of Kim’s team, who claimed that the golfer chose to stay with the Tour.

“It is true that Kim Si-woo, like many Korean players, has been offered a recruitment. However, Kim Si-woo finally expressed his intention to refuse and decided to remain on the PGA Tour…”

Take a look at Flushing It Golf’s X post:

It is worth mentioning that apart from Kim and Bhatia, reports have suggested that LIV has also reached out to two-time PGA Tour winner Sungjae Im. However, Im later turned down those reports in an Instagram story, where the South Korean pro claimed that it was not real news.