Rory McIlroy could feature heavily in talks between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf this week at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
McIlroy will play with both PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) chief Yasir Al-Rumayyan at St Andrews.
The PIF funds LIV Golf, with its chief Al-Rumayyan having been invited to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship by its chief Johann Rupert.
A total of 14 LIV Golf players will play the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, which is an event on the DP World Tour.
Talks are, therefore, very likely to take place throughout the week in and around the Old Course at the iconic venue.
Rory McIlroy issues latest on PGA Tour and LIV Golf discussions
But it remains to be seen how effective they will be, with the PGA Tour and LIV Golf having failed to reach a solution for some time.
The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the PIF signed a framework agreement last summer, with the parties continuing to try and form an alliance after the agreement deadline expired in December.
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PGA Tour advocate McIlroy has now shared his latest thoughts on the matter, telling BBC Sport NI that change “for the most part in golf is resisted because it’s such a traditional sport.
“But I think at this point in time, change is needed to drive the game forward and hopefully we can get to that point.”
When does Rory McIlroy think an agreement can be made?
McIlroy will be keen to focus on playing at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship this week, having endured a frustrating time of late.
His roller-coaster season continued at the BMW PGA Championship, where he lost in a play-off to Billy Horschel.
The near miss at Wentworth came immediately after another near miss at the Irish Open at Royal County Down.
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But the Northern Irishman will unfortunately be forced to deal with constant talk about the PGA Tour and LIV Golf at St Andrews.
Asked how quickly he thinks a resolution can be reached, he responded: “Maybe it’s going too slow for the people that follow golf. In the business world, deals of this size take time. You are talking about billions of dollars changing hands, different jurisdictions.
“I think we’ll know a lot more by year’s end. We’re in October so hopefully [there’s] three months to get something done.”
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