Rory McIlroy believes traditional tours will soon have “decisions to make” as a player exodus from LIV Golf edges closer. LIV filing for bankruptcy in the United States on Tuesday means its deals with several high-profile golfers will soon be invalid, leaving them free to negotiate a route back to the PGA and DP World Tours.
When asked whether remaining with LIV in its planned, far-less lucrative form would hold appeal, McIlroy was characteristically candid. “I’m not in their shoes but LIV at the start looked a lot more attractive than what LIV 2.0 might be from a financial standpoint,” said the Masters champion.
The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing – stating around $45m (£33.2m) is owed to players – represented LIV’s latest step in rebooting the business due to the removal of funding from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). Sources familiar with the situation insist contracts have not yet been breached. Terms in place with star names are now unaffordable for LIV. Contracts will inevitably either be renegotiated or cancelled.
The prevailing sense has been for some time that players such as Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Cameron Smith will seek to relaunch their careers on the PGA Tour – in return for some form of sanction – when it becomes legally feasible for them to do so. Others, who are less attractive to the PGA Tour, are facing career limbo.
“I’m not trying to predict the future but I would predict that you’ll see some guys leave,” said McIlroy. “I think that means other tours have decisions to make. Obviously there’s a lot of players on LIV that can strengthen golf tournaments and make them more competitive. So I would see that as a good thing for the DP World Tour.
“I think the health of the DP World Tour is in a really good spot. They have a wonderful alliance with the PGA Tour. I think that alliance is only going to get stronger, especially with the PGA Tour committing to working with the DP World Tour for some of these international events at this time of the year.
“So you have PGA Tour players really with nothing to do for five months in this period. If they are incorporated or whoever else is incorporated into these tournaments, that makes them more competitive. Overall, you know, I think with the way things are working out, it’s a very good thing for the golf ecosystem. I think it only makes these tournaments stronger with more competitive players in them.”
LIV’s stated aim is to play 10 events, worth $10m each, with 75-man fields in 2027 with the monetary backing of BC Partners. However, huge questions exist over the calibre of player willing to feature. Bryson DeChambeau has been widely tipped to remain with LIV. Lee Westwood has suggested he could do likewise, albeit he has potential to play for high purses on the PGA Tour Champions for over-50s in the United States. “I think some will stay and some won’t,” Westwood told TalkSport. “We’re obviously all independent contractors and everybody’s got different options at different times in their careers, stuff like that. But my plan is to have a good look at LIV 2.0 and make a decision after that.
“The new partner is coming in to make it a sustainable tour and a sustainable operation so that’s very good but, obviously, whenever bankruptcy is mentioned, that’s never a good idea. It’s bad for a lot of people.”
Intriguingly, the PIF plans to loan LIV close to $50m to assist with the bankruptcy process. The role of Saudi Arabia in any future version of LIV is not at all clear. The LIV project has cost the PIF an estimated $5bn. Also unknown is the pace with which the courts will determine LIV’s next steps. Bankruptcy paperwork states LIV has secured $300m in sponsorship contracts from 2027 until 2029 with “blue chip partners.” A large number of staff have already left the business.
McIlroy was speaking from the Irish Open at Donald Trump’s Doonbeg resort. The expectation there is that the US president will attend the event over the weekend. “They obviously have to lock down a specific area and make sure that it’s safe for him to travel into, and the entire delegation, whoever that is,” McIlroy said. “Logistically, it provides a bit of a challenge but we are at one of his properties that he has kindly provided for us to play a golf tournament.
“The president of the United States wants to come watch a little bit of golf. I think we are all happy to be here, grateful to be here. His presence at the Irish Open makes it a truly international event. That brings more attention and eyeballs to the Irish Open and it can only be a good thing.”
