Rory McIlroy was originally one of LIV Golf’s biggest critics. When the league emerged in 2022, the Northern Irishman was sceptical about almost every aspect.
Whether it was LIV’s 54-hole format, the PIF’s involvement, or the reduced field, several factors contributed to the four-time major winner’s dissatisfaction with the league.
McIlroy is still not sold on LIV’s place in the game, and during his Genesis Invitational press conference, the Northern Irishman revealed that President Donald Trump is not a fan of the format.
However, McIlroy does accept that golf must now reunite and that the divide caused by LIV’s emergence must end.
Rory McIlroy benefits after three years of LIV Golf
The contracts signed by those on the LIV Golf League saw questions raised about the amount of prize money dished out to those on the PGA Tour. Scottie Scheffer, for example, earned over $60m after his record-breaking season last year. That sum is similar to a low-ball LIV sign-up offer.
Yet, new incentives have emerged for PGA Tour players, and McIlroy believes he’s earned more money because of the Saudi-backed golf league.
“Because I look at what I made in 2019 before LIV came around, and I look at what I’ve made after LIV came around, and it’s very different. Like, I don’t know what to say. I earn more money now than I did in 2019, and if LIV hadn’t come around, I don’t know if I would have been able to say that,” McIlroy told reporters on Wednesday.”
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Adam Scott and Jay Monahan met President Donald Trump last week at the White House, and negotiations with the Public Investment Fund are believed to be nearing a resolution.
Trump, a keen lover of the game, has been backed to finally end what has been a turbulent time for the sport.
While speaking at Torrey Pines, McIlroy claimed a resolution is definitely closer. “The players on the PGA Tour had more leverage than they ever had to go to the Tour to say we want this, we want that or whatever,” he added.
“But at the same time, I regret some of those decisions too because it put the Tour in a place where they were stretched financially, and they sort of had to look at taking money from elsewhere to try to compete. But like it’s all easy in hindsight, it’s all very easy in hindsight to say these things, but I think we are closer to getting a resolution, and hopefully, we can all just move forward.”
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