Rory McIlroy has never been a fan of LIV Golf. He’s been very clear about that from the beginning.
Now, with LIV Golf trying to find a path forward without Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, McIlroy is still firmly on the side of the PGA Tour.
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“I’ve always felt like this is the best place to play professional golf,” McIlroy said Wednesday ahead of the BMW Championship in St. Louis.
“And I’m pretty sure if the PGA Tour were handed $6 billion, it would have done a better job with it.”
The PIF announced earlier this year that it would no longer fund the startup league after the 2026 campaign, after reportedly pouring more than $5 billion into it since its inception. That’s led to plenty of problems for LIV Golf in recent months.
The league has been hit with multiple lawsuits and has canceled two tournaments, including the season-ending team championship in Michigan that was scheduled for later this month. It has reportedly been running on loans for months now, and some players are allegedly still waiting to be paid from the Bedminster tournament in New Jersey.
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LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil met with reporters on Wednesday ahead of the league’s Indianapolis event, and said the league is prepared to move forward with its LIV 2.0 vision. But he didn’t answer several major questions or give details about potential funding issues moving forward. The league has secured an investor, it says, and players met with both O’Neil and the investor on Tuesday night. But specifics there, including the name of the investor, are not yet known publicly.
O’Neil also suggested Wednesday that he thinks there is a sense among golf leadership that it’s time to come together for the good of the sport. Notably, though, he said that leadership did not include the PGA Tour or new Tour CEO Brian Rolapp.
“I feel like I’ve kept my position consistent that LIV has never been a good thing for the game,” McIlroy said. “So, and whatever 2.0 looks like, if it even happens, they say they’re trying to be more collaborative and all that.”
What about LIV guys returning to the PGA Tour?
Naturally, with all of the questions surrounding the league, there has been plenty of speculation that some players are at least open to the idea of leaving LIV Golf for either the Tour or the DP World Tour in 2027. Jon Rahm, easily the biggest LIV Golf member behind only Bryson DeChambeau, is apparently among them. DeChambeau’s current LIV contract ends on Sunday, too.
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So, after all of the fighting within the sport in recent years, should LIV Golf members be allowed to return to the PGA Tour?
“I would argue, ‘Have they brought value to LIV?’ You know?” McIlroy said in response to that question. “I think the PGA Tour’s in a really good spot.”
Scottie Scheffler, fresh off his eight-shot win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship last week, was a little bit kinder on the subject. Getting to play against at least some of the LIV Golf members again more regularly, he said, is appealing.
“LIV has a few players that are really good,” Scheffler said. “I think the depth that we have on our Tour is a bit unmatched, but I think when you look at the higher levels of LIV Golf there’s definitely some players that would provide a lot of value to the Tour, and guys that I love competing against as well.”
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Multiple notable golfers have already left LIV Golf and are either back with the PGA Tour already or are preparing to do so. Patrick Reed has been playing on the DP World Tour all season while serving a year-long suspension with the Tour. Brooks Koepka was welcomed back to the Tour in January after getting out of his LIV deal early, though he did so with several significant and expensive stipulations.
Several players are going to have to make a decision soon, too. The DP World Tour has reportedly been notifying LIV Golf members that it will resume imposing heavy fines and suspensions as part of its conflicting events rules in 2027. If European players aren’t in good standing with the DP World Tour, they won’t be able to participate with the European team in the Ryder Cup next fall in Ireland.
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What happens next with LIV Golf is still anybody’s guess. Even if it shuts down completely, both McIlroy and Scheffler don’t think the Tour should be rushing to welcome them back with open arms.
“I think going forward there obviously has to be, I think, some sort of penalties [to return],” Scheffler said. “What those are, I’ll let Rolapp and all those guys figure it out.”
