McIlroy Open to LIV Players Returning to PGA Tour as Saudi Funding Ends

Rory McIlroy said he is no longer opposed to LIV Golf players returning to the PGA Tour but suggested their interest will determine the outcome as Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund pulls funding after the current season. McIlroy spoke to reporters at Quail Hollow on Friday after his second round at the Truist Championship in Charlotte.

“If you want to be the most competitive golfer you can be, this is the place to be.

And if you don’t want to play here, I think that says something about you,” he said. He added, “It’s a question on if they do want to come back. ” McIlroy, who led the initial push against LIV Golf, has not had a leadership role on the PGA Tour in a couple of seasons.

He admitted he was “probably too judgmental” on the players who initially left for LIV. “I’m not going to judge anyone for not wanting to play on the PGA Tour,” he said. The world No. ” Yet he voiced openness to reintegration if it strengthens the tours.

“If it is a scenario where they have the option to come back and play on the traditional tours, I think Brian Rolapp has said anything that makes this Tour stronger, anything that makes the DP World Tour stronger, I think everyone should be open to that. That’s just good business practice,” McIlroy said. He expressed doubt about LIV’s ability to continue in its current form.

“They’re going to go and try and find alternative investment, whatever that may look like. But when one of the wealthiest sovereign wealth funds in the world thinks that you’re too expensive for them, that sort of says something,” McIlroy said.

His contract with LIV ends after this season and he has reportedly asked for a new $500m deal. DeChambeau said he was told LIV had financing until 2032. “A couple months before that, it’s like, ‘We’re here until 2032.