LIV Golf has found an ally in Rory McIlroy in recent days. The Northern Irishman once called the breakaway circuit ‘dead in the water’ and was one of the loudest voices to vocalize disapproval of the then newly incepted league, all the while emerging as a staunch PGA Tour loyalist. Now, as McIlroy looks back at his past actions, there lingers regret. McIlroy recently revealed, ‘I wish I hadn’t have gotten involved… hadn’t have gotten as deeply involved in it,‘ referring to the PGA Tour and PIF fiasco, which affected his game in the end.
The 4-time major winner tried to move away from the drama as he exited the PGA Tour policy board last year. However, recently he hoped to join it back in the place of Webb Simpson but was unable to do so. Even though he did not get a seat on the board, the PGA Tour gave McIlroy a membership in the Transaction Subcommittee which is responsible for direct negotiation with PIF regarding the $3 billion merger. In light of that, McIlroy revealed details about the new meeting and gave a reality check on LIV Golf.
Rory McIlroy believes LIV Golf isn’t going anywhere
It’s been a whole year since the news of the PIF-PGA Tour merger was announced. And during the course of the entire year, the $3 billion deal has been fraught with constant challenges and delays. Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, and the rest of the Transaction Subcommittee members will meet with PIF and Yasir Al-Rumayyan on Friday to further discuss negotiations regarding the merger. Before the parties meet, McIlroy has talked with some reporters to reveal his thoughts on LIV Golf and the overall situation in men’s golf.
The 35-year-old spoke about the disruptive league, stating that LIV might not vanish in a few years as many critics have predicted. As Sports Illustrated reported, McIlroy said, “I certainly don’t see in the next couple of years LIV slowing down.” Rather, McIlroy highlighted how they’ve grown outside the course, where they’ve had 200 employees and are buying offices in New York.
Taking all this in regard, McIlroy then pointed out that no defectors of LIV have revealed that they no longer want to play in the league and many have contracts through 2028 and 2029. As all facts direct, he said, “Looking a few years down the line, LIV is going to continue to sort of keep going down its path.” But amidst it, McIlroy hoped for a collaboration between the PGA Tour and LIV, saying, “Maybe there is some cross-pollenation there where players can start to play on both.”
The 35-year-old shared that the topic of cross-pollination will be one of the topics that will be discussed during the Friday meeting, which he will join through video conference. Although Woods, Scott, and McIlroy will be a part of the meeting, the golfer won’t be spearheading the discussion on Friday.
Rory McIlroy will take a backseat in the upcoming meeting
Rory McIlroy gave a bit more detail into the workings of the PGA Tour Transaction Subcommittee, which conducts weekly meetings on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with PIF and negotiates the merger efficiently. This Friday, the committee in NY will have Jay Monahan, Joe Ogilvie, and John Henry. The three players will be meeting with Yasir Al-Rumayyan and PIF’s stakeholders to discuss the merger.
As both sides will have rather important business to negotiate, McIlroy said, “There’s going to be people in that room on the PGA Tour side who are going to take the lead. And it’s not going to be Adam, Tiger, or I.” The Northern Irishman divulged that the three players were there to share the players’s point of view from time to time in the case of a merger.
The 35-year-old explained that he would be listening more instead of talking because “this is big boy stuff” and would not want to disrupt the meeting. The NY meet might progress the PGA Tour-PIF merger, which has been practically at a halt since June 6th, 2023. The negotiation talks might help in finding a conclusion to the long-awaited deal.
