CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Rory McIlroy is no longer opposed to LIV Golf players returning to the PGA Tour, but he said Friday that “it’s a question of if they do want to come back.”
McIlroy said the answer will likely depend on what happens with LIV’s financial situation in the coming months.
Last month, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund pulled the plug on future funding for LIV Golf, which had lured away stars including Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau with lucrative, guaranteed contracts. LIV’s uncertain future raises new questions about whether some players should be allowed to return to the PGA Tour — and if so, under what set of rules or penalties.
The PGA Tour recently offered a temporary path back for some LIV players. Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka took advantage of the opportunity.
Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton are among the players who remain under contract with LIV beyond this season.
However, Rahm resolved his financial dispute with the European tour, known commercially as the DP World Tour. That move potentially gives him a place to compete in 2027 and beyond.
“If it is a scenario where they have the option to come back and play on the traditional tours, I think (PGA Tour CEO) Brian Rolapp has said anything that makes this tour stronger, anything that makes the DP World Tour stronger, I think everyone should be open to that,” McIlroy said after finishing his second round at the Truist Championship. “That’s just good business practice.”
For now, McIlroy, like most in golf, is in a wait-and-see mode — although he expressed skepticism about the rival tour raising enough money to continue in its current form.
“They’re going to go and try and find alternative investment, whatever that may look like,” McIlroy said. “But when one of the wealthiest sovereign wealth funds in the world thinks that you’re too expensive for them, that sort of says something.”
McIlroy, the No. 2 player in the world, has become the face of the game along with top-ranked Scottie Scheffler.
He has been an outspoken critic in the past of players who bolted for big paydays that came with joining the Saudi-backed tour.
“Obviously the guys over there are under contract and if they are able to keep it going and get a schedule together next year, it seems like those guys are still going to play the majority of their golf on LIV, in whatever form it takes,” McIlroy said.
DeChambeau’s contract with LIV is up after the season and he has reportedly asked for a new, $500 million deal.
McIlroy has softened his stance on those who moved on to LIV over the years, and reiterated on Friday that he was “probably too judgmental” in his opinions.
But he said LIV is “not for me.”
“I’m not going to judge anyone for not wanting to play on the PGA Tour,” McIlroy said. “I don’t know, does that mean that they go play DP World Tour, maybe; if that’s a pathway, that would make the DP World Tour stronger, and I would be delighted with that.”
But he also questioned why top players would not want to compete against the world’s best every week.
“If you want to be the most competitive golfer you can be, this is the place to be,” McIlroy said of the PGA Tour. “And if you don’t want to play here, I think that says something about you.”
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