Rory McIlroy admits PGA Tour can’t compete with LIV Golf riches and calls for merger

Rory McIlroy initially announced himself as one of LIV Golf’s biggest critics, but after the Saudi-backed league’s rapid rise, it appears the Northern Irishman has softened his stance

Rory McIlroy believes that the PGA Tour is unable to compete with the Saudi-funded wealth of its LIV Golf rivals, and has called on the feud between the two circuits to come to an end.

McIlroy, who has always shown his allegiance to the American circuit, is now at the center of the conflict between the PGA Tour and LIV. Though it seems the Northern Irishman and his Tour colleagues may have underestimated their Saudi rivals, despite his initial firm stance.

The LIV setup have been able to lure in some of the Tour’s biggest names thanks to the backing of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), with the latest being McIlroy’s Ryder Cup teammate Jon Rahm.

A month on from Rahm’s mega-money switch, McIlroy has laid bare the struggles facing the PGA Tour. “With the PGA Tour trying to compete with LIV and the Saudis’ money is completely unsustainable,” he told Stick to Football podcast.

“They can’t do that. You are never going to win a fight, money-for-money because I think we have seen in all sport that there is no one spending like the Saudis.” On the back of the Saudis’ movement into the world of golf, the Tour were forced to swallow their pride last summer, after announcing a framework agreement with PIF.

The deal would see the Tour work in unison with their LIV rivals, as well as the European counterparts on the DP World Tour. Following the announcement on June 6, those involved set a December 31 deadline to sign off the deal but this was missed last weekend.

After failing to achieve their New Year’s Eve target, the PGA Tour announced they were continuing their negotiations with the Saudi fund, as well as U.S.-based investor Strategic Sports Group (SSG). For McIlroy, he hopes the two rival tours can reach some sort of agreement despite resistance from players on both sides.

“I hope everyone comes back together,” he added. “You’ve got guys on both sides that don’t want it to happen for certain reasons, the LIV guys don’t really want to come back and play the PGA Tour because they don’t feel like they’ve been treated very well.

“Some of the PGA guys don’t want to come back together because they don’t want to see those other guys. People at this point need to put their feelings and egos aside and come back together and we all move forward – that would be the best thing for golf.”

As a Player Director on the PGA Tour’s Policy Board, McIlroy was perceived as having a significant influence on the agreement. Nevertheless, he chose to leave the position in November of last year, and Jordan Spieth took over right away. Speaking candidly about his resignation, the 34-year-old stated that his lack of time was the primary factor in his decision to step down, not the Tour’s decision to reverse course on Saudi Arabia.