Rory McIlroy: LIV Golf not signing anyone who moves the needle

Even though LIV Golf is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to sign two-time U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau, PGA Tour star Rory McIlroy said he doesn’t think the Saudi-funded breakaway league will be any better off.

“It’s not like they’ve made huge hires this year, right?” McIlroy told the London Telegraph on Thursday. “They haven’t signed anyone who shakes things up, and I don’t think they will. I mean, they could re-sign Bryson for hundreds of millions of dollars, but even if they did, it wouldn’t change their product, would it? They’d just be paying for the exact same thing.”

McIlroy, who is competing in the Dubai Invitational on the DP World Tour this week, said he was happy to have former LIV Golf captain Brooks Koepka returning to the PGA Tour. The five-time major champion will donate $5 million to charity, at the request of the PGA Tour, and forgo player shares for the next five years.

“It’s great because it puts Brooks back where he belongs,” McIlroy said. “He is one of the best players in the world and anything that makes traditional circuits stronger is a good thing in my eyes.”

DeChambeau and LIV Golf captains Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith, as former winners of one of the four majors or the Players Championship since 2022, are also eligible to return to the PGA Tour under the new returning members program.

PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said their return window ends on February 2.

At a news conference in Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday, DeChambeau, Rahm and Smith said they intend to stay at LIV Golf.

DeChambeau’s contract with LIV Golf expires at the end of this season. Rahm and Smith have several years left, according to sources.

DeChambeau said his contract negotiations with LIV Golf are ongoing.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has lured many PGA Tour members to LIV Golf with multi-year contracts estimated to be worth more than $100 million. Rahm’s deal is reportedly worth more than $300 million.

In February 2025, then-PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and player directors Tiger Woods and Adam Scott met with PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan at the White House. The PIF considered injecting $1.5 billion into PGA Tour Enterprises, but the deal appears dead.

“We have to realize that we were trying to deal with people who were acting, in some ways, irrationally, just in terms of the capital they were allocating and the money they were spending,” McIlroy said. “It’s been four or five years and there hasn’t been a return yet, but they’re going to have to continue to spend this money, if only to maintain what they currently have.”

According to UK financial documents, PIF has injected more than $5 billion into LIV Golf since its launch in 2022, including more than $1 billion last year.

LIV Golf, known for its shotgun starts, team golf and festive atmosphere, is turning to 72-hole tournaments this season to increase its chances of being recognized by the official world golf rankings. It increases purses to $30 million for its 11 regular-season events and $50 million for its season-ending team and individual championships.

“A lot of these guys’ contracts are up,” McIlroy said. “They’re going to ask for the same number or an even higher number. LIV spent $5 or $6 billion and they’re going to have to spend five or six more just to stay where they are. Look, I’m a lot more comfortable being on the PGA Tour side than on their side, but who knows what’s going to happen.

“As always, time will tell with all of this, but I’m so happy to be with the PGA Tour.”